The Boy Who Travels Through Fog
by TenFiftyFour
Summary: A story about a group of high schoolers having fun together and making memories and stuff... Also, there's conspiracy, mystery, betrayal, backstabbing, shadows, self-doubt, sister complexes, daddy issues, friendship, love, and cross-dressing! An alternate take on the events leading up to the day the fog will consume Inaba, with a focus on Yu and Naoto's individual struggles.
1. Prologue: The Wrong Reasons

**October 7th**

The school bell rang, and Yu suddenly realized he hadn't been paying attention to the lecture at all. Chairs sqeaked across the floor as the other students stood from their desks and began to loudly gather their things and head for the door. The teacher yelled something about tomorrow's lesson and homework, but it was mostly drowned out by the sound of high-schoolers laughing and talking about after-school plans.

A girl with short brown hair and a bright green track jacket leaned over to Yu from the seat next to his. "You were really zoned out there, weren't you?" She said. "Still got your mind on the case?"

Chie was already finished putting her things away and was currently tapping her heel against the ground, a habit that could mean she was either incredibly anxious or perfectly content. The girl was always brimming with energy, so Yu could never quite tell which it was.

"Yeah, I guess so." Yu responded, beginning to gather his things in front of him. "It just seems so strange now, we're the only ones who know that the killer is still at large. The police haven't a clue, and the public just assumes Kubo is the one responsible. I guess I was just trying to piece everything together in my head, and decide where to go from here. I really should have been paying attention though, huh? I'm probably going to need you help on the homework tonight." He smiled.

"That's a joke, right?" The girl laughed. "You know I'm going to be getting all my answers from Yukiko."

As she said her name, Yu noticed the dark haired girl in a red jacket walk up beside them from the row just ahead, carrying her books in front of her.

"I've been thinking about the case too," she said, speaking in a soft tone as if trying not to be overheard. "It really is a lot of pressure on us, isn't it? I mean, no one would believe that the true killer is throwing people into television sets to die by their own shadows."

"I'm still not sure _I_ can even believe it." Chie sighed, her foot slowing its tempo under her desk.

"But, I've also been thinking..." Yukiko continued, "We've got a real detective with us now! I'm sure we can rely on him- um, _her _to solve this case for good. She did figure out that Kubo-san was only a copycat killer all by herself, didn't she?"

This detective, Naoto Shirogane, had just joined their group recently after being kidnapped by the killer just two weeks ago. She had been working with the Inaba Police as a private investigator on the case, all the while pretending to be a boy to avoid the unfortunate instances of sexual discrimination on the force. This facade came crashing down in the foggy light of the TV world however, when Yu and his friends were presented with all of her secrets and insecurities in the form of her "shadow". This was all expected however, as each member of the group had at one point been kidnapped and thrown into a television screen to come face to face with their other selves. All except for one of them, of course.

"Hmm, Naoto-kun will definitely be a big help," Yu said thoughtfully, "But she got kicked off the force before because the police didn't believe her. And now that getting herself kidnapped to prove there was another culprit didn't give her any hard evidence to take back to the station, she only has us to rely on as well."

"That's true..."

"Still, I only had this gut feeling that we weren't done with the case before, it wasn't until Naoto pulled that stunt that I realized I should have paid more attention. So I'm sure we could all learn a thing or two from her."

Yukiko pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and nodded.

"Yo, you guys want to grab some food at Junes later? I'm off work today so I thought we could all hang out. Give Naoto-kun a proper welcome to the crew, you know?"

The cheery voice of Yosuke made the three perk up and turn to face the boy, who was walking up from his desk closer to the back of the room. The headphones around his neck were producing a tinny sounding rock song too quiet to really make out. Yu wondered if he actually kept his music playing all throughout class.

"You're don't have to work there today, but you _still_ want to hang out at Junes?" Chie spat in her jeering tone she reserved soley for berating Yosuke.

"Yeah, why not? I get great discounts on food, which I have to take advantage of ever since _someone_ cleaned out my account buying expensive clothes for Teddie!" Yosuke's voice grew more intense when he mentioned their odd friend's name. Yukiko tried to hide the smile growing on her face by tucking her chin into her shoulder and turning away.

"I said I was sorry about that! Jeez, what else do you want from me?"

"What- you...!"

Chie always knew the best ways to push Yosuke's buttons, and he played right into her hands way too easily. Yu exchanged a glance with a chuckling Yukiko and smiled. He felt bad for his friend, but it was just too funny to see him lose his cool like this.

"Hmph. Anyway, are you guys interested or not? I'm going to take care of something at home first then I can meet you there later."

"Well I'm in," Yu said. "Let's go mention it to the others before they-"

"Excuse me." He was cut short as a small student from downstairs walked into the classroom. The student looked hesitent to enter the room full of upper classmen, and stood stiffly in the doorway for a moment before walking over to Yu's desk. Grey eyes partially hidden under the brim of a blue cap regarded the three others before continuing, "Do you all have free time after school today?"

They glanced at each other for a moment, the businesslike tone could have just been this person's way of seeing if they wanted to hang out, but knowing the detective that probably wasn't the case.

Chie spoke first. "Oh, hey Naoto-kun. What's up? Did... something happen?"

"No... That is, nothing involving the case per se..." Her voice briefly trailed off. "I'd like to have a doctor examine Teddie."

This came out of nowhere. Teddie was certainly a strange boy, Yu and Yosuke had first encountered him inside the TV world, which he apparently called his home. He was dressed as a bear-like creature, and took an instant liking to Yu in particular, calling him his "sensei". Since then, he had helped them discover the location of the people who were kidnapped and thrown into the TV, and eventually was able to venture outside his homeworld in the form of a blonde-haired blue-eyed high-school boy. Though he held onto his strange and quirky behavior outside of the TV, he had been such a close part of the group that none of them had even considered getting him checked out by a doctor. He was always just another high-school kid like them, albeit a very weird one.

After exchanging confused looks, Yukiko spoke up.

"A doctor...? You mean a vet?"

Yu held back a chuckle, as Naoto gave Yukiko an odd look, trying to determine whether she was joking or not. As great a student as she was, if Naoto had known her as well as the rest of the group did, she would know that of course, Yukiko was being perfectly serious.

"Um, the normal kind, actually. If you are all free, I've scheduled a checkup for him this afternoon. I thought a thourough physical examination would be a good first step in determining what Teddie really is. I've made arrangements to have all of you examined as well, if that's okay. We have no idea what kind of negative effects being inside the TV could have on our bodies."

Yu was taken aback by the detective's thought process. If he thought he had underestimated her before, well... he had a lot to learn. It seemed so obvious, though. They had been going in and out of the TV for months, and without special glasses to see through the fog on the other side, they would instantly become fatigued. He had never considered lasting effects though, as they usually felt fine when they came out. As for Teddie... now that Naoto had said something about it, questions that had been lingering at the back of his mind came flooding out into the open.

"Negative effects?" Yosuke asked, sounding alarmed. "Well... I guess I'd never thought about it."

"It's a good idea, Naoto." Yu said. "We should all head over there after we leave."

"You're really on the ball with all this aren't you? Are you sure you're not an adult?" Chie grinned.

"Eh, her height's a dead giveaway."

Naoto glared up at Yosuke before collecting herself and turning to leave. "I'll see you all there then."

They watched as their underclassman walked briskly out the door and turned down the hallway. "Man, she's really gotta learn to lighten up." Yosuke said, wincing.

* * *

The bright white halls of Inaba Municipal Hospital had become somewhat familiar to Yu, as he had spent many nights working part-time here as a janitor. However, just the sound of people's voices near the front desk or the occasional doctor walking by made him feel infinitely more comfortable then the cold, lonely hallways did at night. Not to mention he had Kanji sitting beside him.

Although he was Yu's underclassman Kanji stood at least a head higher than himself, had bleached blonde hair, and normally dressed in black with some kind of skull printed somewhere on his clothing. He had an intimidating presence, yet the more Yu got to know him, the more that rough exterior began to fade, giving way to a sensitive young man who was deeply concerned with his friends and family, and who was just trying too hard to hide the fact that he liked making stuffed animals in his free time.

"So uh... Senpai, why aren't we taking Teddie to a _vet_?" Hey, no one said he was a genius.

"Well, we're not really sure _what _Teddie is, but we're pretty sure a regular doctor would be more helpful," Yu responded, taking Kanji's question seriously. "That said, if nothing comes of this check-up I'm not sure what to do next. Vet? Neurologist? Psychic? Your guess is as good as mine."

"Yeah, all this stuff is really strange... TV world, shadows, personas. I don't think I've ever really thought about just how _weird _it all is. At least not until _she..._" Kanji trailed off, looking down at the floor.

He was thinking about the detective, of course. The kid had been infatuated with her ever since she had showed up to interview him regarding the kidnappings and murders. Right before Kanji was kidnapped himself. It was true though, the presence of a seasoned, logical detective in their group gave Yu a new perspective on their whole endeavor. Slaying shadows inside a TV with beings called personas that they called forth with their own minds? It all seemed so rediculous in contrast with what should be a real world investigation into a serial murder case. But the two sides were inexplicably linked, which meant the only ones who had the ability to close the case and bring the murderer to justice were those with that ability- Yu and his friends, and now Naoto.

The door in front of them opened, and Yosuke stepped out looking slightly annoyed. "Well, that was a waste of time."

"Nothing interesting?" Yu asked.

"Nah, I'm perfectly normal, believe it or not."

"Oh, so they didn't do a brain scan?"

"Yeah, yeah. You're hilarious." Yosuke rolled his eyes. "You're next partner, so you'd better get in there."

Yu grinned and stood up, Yosuke taking his place in the seat next to Kanji. "Good luck, Senpai!" Kanji said as Yu shut the door behind him.

He walked down a small corridor before reaching an area with a table and two doors on either side. The table was stacked with papers. Their checkup results? The door on the left was closed, probably the room where Teddie was. He sure was taking a while. Down the hallway further was probably the girls' room, so that meant his room was the open door to the right. He walked inside. There were the usual things he expected to see in a room like this, the metal scale, the stiff bed covered with a sheet of paper, the cabinets containing all kinds of needles and instruments and medications. Something suddenly felt off, though, something that Yu couldn't really put his finger on until he noticed that the room itself had taken on a distinct shade of... blue?

Then he noticed the bed wasn't actually a bed, but was a series of long cushioned seats, rolling along the wall patterned with intricate blue designs. The cabinets were a fancy looking bar in the floor, filled of shimmering champagne glasses and exotic drinks that he'd never heard of before. The ceiling compressed and the light fixture dimmed to emit only a soft blue glow. And the scale... in its place were three figures. On the left was a young girl in a plaid skirt and blue cap with a blue messenger bag, looking down at her feet. On the right was a gorgeous blonde woman wearing a blue dress, with a faint smile on her face holding a large book in her lap. In the center a sinister looking old man sat leaning forward, his gloved hands locked together under his long, hooked nose. The man grinned a toothy grin and stared up at Yu with wide, unblinking eyes.

"Welcome," he said rather cordially, "to the Velvet Room."

* * *

"Greetings!" The old man named Igor lifted his head and smiled. "So we meet again."

"H-hello. Sorry, I didn't expect you guys to show up here of all places." Yu found himself sitting inside the back of a limosine, a particularly nice one at that, where everything, even the residents, were adorned in an impossibly deep shade of blue. He could feel the slight bumpiness below him of wheels rolling over a paved road, letting him know the vehicle was moving along, but as he tried to glance outside to see where they were going, his view was obscured by a thick fog.

"Apologies," said Igor, "But we have come to inquire into your current situation, as well as to inform you of a change in your contract." The man seemed to draw out each word as he spoke, as if he found great joy in teasing every syllable.

"My contract?" Yu asked, "Look, can we make this somewhat quicker than normal? I'm supposed to be getting a physical exam from a doctor right about now." He had no idea what had become of the hospital, or if he was even still there, physically at least. And if he was, what was he doing right now? Standing there like a zombie?

"A physical examination? I see..." Igor glanced to his left at the blonde woman, who returned a somewhat worried look. She turned back to Yu.

"You needn't worry about being late for your appointment. Time flows differently here, and you should return to your previous state without missing a moment."

"Now..." Igor moved his hands to his lap and sat up somewhat straighter. "For our first order of business. Margaret?"

"Of course. It is good to see you again, Narukami-san." The blonde woman gave Yu a soft, but genuine smile. That smile that always sent butterflies up through his chest.

"You too, Margaret." Yu said, more comfortable now that he felt confident time wasn't being wasted un the hospital. "Hey Marie. Long time no see."

The girl to Igor's right jerked her head up, obviously shaken out of her apparent daze. "Huh? You dork, we just hung out the other day."

"I know, just teasing." Yu smiled. "Your poem I found the other day really spoke to me." He had taken Marie on enought adventures with his friends outside of the Velvet Room now that she was basically a part-time member of the group. He also knew how to push all of her rage buttons. One of the big ones of course was reading out loud the poetry that sometimes happened to fall out of her messenger bag. Poetry that she liked to write.

She scoffed and folded her arms, gazing off out the window into the fog. "You're so weird..."

Margaret gave a small chuckle, before clearing her throat and preparing to focus on the task at hand. "Have you been strengthening your bonds, Yu Narukami?" It was a strange question, one that Yu had heard from Margaret and Igor before, but was never quite sure what to make of it.

"My bonds? Well yeah I suppose, I have a very supportive group of friends with me. We're all pretty close."

"And your individual bonds? That is, the links formed between you and another individual, seperate from a group? These are the bonds that will become the deepest and most true."

"...And the ones that will allow you to create even stronger personas," Igor chimed in.

Create stronger personas... everyone else in the group had a single persona, or "mask that one wears to face life's hardships," yet he had the unusual power to carry many with him, or create more if he wanted to. What did that mean? Was he adaptable? Or was it that he simply "borrowed" other personas and that he never had one of his own to begin with? He wasn't sure himself, but it was something that had bothered him from the beginning.

"I have," He responded, somewhat flatly.

"Mmm." Margaret seemed to approve. "And you are aware that there is a new bond wating to be formed now, one of the... fortune arcana."

A new bond? Did she mean Naoto? The detective was the only person in the group that he hadn't had the chance to talk to one on one yet. "Yeah... I guess so. I haven't really gotten to know her yet but... what does any of this have to do with my contract? With finding the true killer?"

Margaret smiled again. "Your journey is rife with obstacles that will attempt to divert your heart from the truth. Strengthening bonds with others allows your heart grow more resilient, and better equipped to handle what may come."

Yu sighed. "I suppose I get it, somewhat. It seems like one of those things that will make more sense once I'm face to face."

"Indeed." Igor never stopped staring at him with those wide eyes, and Yu would be hard pressed to recall ever seeing him blink before. "Now, our second, and true motive for bringing you here today. How... do you feel?"

"What?" _That_ was their real reason for bringing him here? To casually ask how he's doing? "I'm fine. Thanks?" He glanced around at each of their faces, waiting for Margaret to speak up and tell him that it was just one of her awkward jokes. But she simply gazed at him with a vague smile, her hands placed calmly on top of her book.

"The reason I ask you this," Igor continued, "Is that fate predicts a shift in circumstances regarding your journey for the truth, and one that may affect your contract as well." He paused, gauging Yu's reaciton to the news. "Furthermore, I believe this shift in circumstances will also be brought about by a change within _yourself_."

Yu began to get a bit impatient. "What circumstances? What change?"

"These things, we cannot know. We can only offer this warning for you to heed. Will you be able to take this into account, while still moving relentlessly towards the truth?" Igor tilted his head and stared even deeper. This had to be some kind of test.

"Of course." Yu responed without hesitation.

"Splendid!" Igor rested his chin on his closed hand. "Then we should have no need to worry."

Yu rubbed his eyes and sighed once more. "These readings of yours, these... 'predictions'. They aren't very helpful, are they?"

"We residents of the Velvet Room are disconnected from the circumstances in your world," Margaret responded, "But we can form predictions based on certain metaphysical aspects such as human thought patterns and, of course, shadows. I'm sorry, but the details we obtain are minimal. We can only give you enough information to help guide you down the right path."

Yu just frowned and sank back into his seat.

"Well then!" Igor returned to his jovial tone from before. "It is time to bid you farewell once more."

The images before Yu begain to waver.

"Until we meet again..."

"Bye Yu!" Marie said with a rare smile. Margaret gave a short nod.

"Oh, and one last warning," Igor's voice began to grow faint,"I would recommend the results of your physical examination be kept hidden from anyone who may interpret them the wrong way..."

Yu sat up. "Wait... what!?" He shouted, but the blue room had vanished, and the doctor's office had returned in its place. "Igor!"

"What's that supposed to mean...?" He muttered out loud.

"Um..." A woman's voice came from behind, startling him.

"If you're looking for Doctor Frankenstein, you've come to the wrong place."

It was the nurse... Sayoko! The one who normally worked late shifts while he was on janitor duty.

"You're a strange kid." She eyed him and gave him a sly smile. "The doctor says he apologizes for running late. He'll be here any minute."

She turned and glanced back at him before starting down the hall. "I'll see you again soon."

Yu said nothing as he watched her leave. His mind was elsewhere. Interpret them the wrong way? The hell did Igor mean by that? He took a seat on the cushioned table and ran a hand through his hair. Whatever the old man meant, he was sure to find out soon enough. In the meantime however, he would have to come up with a plan to steal his own results.

* * *

"How long should we sit here and wait for them? I'm starving..." Chie sat in a lobby chair with her head tilted back towards the ceiling, her foot tapping incessantly. Beside her, Yosuke sat staring at the wall clock's second hand as it ticked along at increasingly slower intervals. The rest of the team had finished their checkups at least twenty minutes ago, with nothing interesting or out of the ordinary to report. The only ones still missing were Teddie, Naoto, and Yu.

"I'm with you, Chie." Rise, the former teen idol and third kidnapping victim to join the 'Investigation Team' moaned and rubbed her temples. "Let's give them five more minutes before we leave them here. These bright lights are giving me a headache!"

Yosuke just sighed and nodded. He could understand why Teddie might take a bit longer than the rest of them given the circumstances. But where was Yu? He went in right afterwards.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting." The group turned at the sound of Naoto's voice, to see her walking towards them with Teddie a few steps behind.

"Well?" Yosuke asked, "Anything interesting?"

"Only that he appears to be perfectly normal, I'm afraid," Naoto said with a sigh. "Well, I did recommend that the doctor take an x-ray, but no matter how many times it was performed, the picture came out too blurry to discern."

At this, the group exchanged confused looks.

Naoto continued, "The doctor said the machine may be malfuctioning, and to try another hospital if we are still worried." She glanced at Teddie, who she wasn't sure was even listening at all. "I'm sorry for making you go through all of this, Teddie"

The boy grinned, looking for all intents and purposes like he thoroughly enjoyed the whole ordeal. "They took a look at everything inside me..." he said in a mischevious tone.

"You weirdo..." Chie said, "They couldn't even see anything on the x-ray!"

Kanji tilted his head. "But, they couldn't find anything wrong with him I guess. Man, we know about as much about Teddie as we do those Personas and Shadows."

"Mmm..." Naoto's gaze fell off to the side, as it often did when she was consumed in thought. She brought her head up abruptly though when she noticed the absence of the leader of the group. "Hm? Where is Narukami-san?"

Yosuke shrugged. "I thought you would know better than us. Did you see him at all back there?"

"Senpaaaiiii..." Rise whined. "Where are you? I'm starving!"

"Here, sorry." The tall silver-haired boy walked up next to Teddie, his hands in his pockets. "Sorry about that, took longer than expected. I figured I should go ahead and do the whole x-ray thing too, just to be safe."

Naoto turned her head to him and gave him a rather suspicious look. "And...?"

"Nothing to report. I'm painfully normal." Yu smirked, looking somewhat embarrased despite himself. "So what did we find out about Teddie?"

"Nothing interesting, it seems," she replied.

"Oh, he did get an x-ray, but the doctors couldn't tell anything from it because it was too blurry," Yukiko added.

Yu blinked, and looked at Naoto."Blurry? That's interesting, isn't it?"

"It is," She said, "But it doesn't tell us anything particularly useful. A visual examination and standard palpations indicate he is perfectly normal."

"I'm better than normal!" Teddie exclaimed, suddenly pulling a small stack of paperwork out from under his silk button-up. "Tadaa! I've got loads of blackmail material!"

"Wh-what! What is that?" Kanji sputtered out. Yosuke's face took on a look of surprised anger, he knew exactly what they were. The rest of the group went pale.

"These days, information wants to be free! It's only fair since you all got to hear _my _results!" Teddie straightened and held the papers out at arms length, tilting his head and mock-squinting as if trying to focus through far-sighted glasses. Chie sprang up and tried to tackle the boy, but he was too quick for her and dodged out of the way, causing her to slam into the wall behind him.

"Dammit! Don't you dare!"

"Ahem! Let's see... how about we start with all of the ladies' measurements?" His eyes twinkled with devious delight.

"Yeah, start with those!" Yosuke grinned, his anger suddenly forgotten.

"Yeah! Wait..." Yu lifted an eyebrow. "What kind of examinations were these, exactly?" He was confused, but made no move to stop the boy.

Rise, surprisingly calm, walked over next to him and glanced down at the papers in his hand. "It's fine, my profile has been public knowledge for a while. Although, they tend to exaggerate my bust size a bit..."

"No!" Yukiko cried. "Don't read mine!" Her face went bright red.

"It's okay, Senpai. I'm sure the guys won't care what size you are."

"You're a dead man if you read mine, Teddie!" Chie hissed. "Do you hear me? Dead! I'll put my foot so far up your ass..."

"Hmm, let's see..." Rise now took part in Teddie's mischief, it seemed. "Ah, Naoto-kun's is the first page! Hers are..." A look of confusion crossed her face.

"Umm... is this right? Wait a minute... they had to have measured this wrong."

The Investigation Team, along with many others, had confused Naoto for a boy due to the way she dressed and carried herself. This was her intention, of course, and Rise always assumed the fact that the detective wasn't very well-endowed only helped her cause. But this... this probably meant...

"I think we've all heard enough!" A hand snached the stack of papers from Teddie's hand, interrupting Rise mid-thought and causing her to jump in surprise. The blue-haired detective glared at Rise, beads of sweat starting to form above her brow. "The important thing is that we're all perfectly healthy!" She then turned and began to walk briskly towards the exit. "I'm going to go shred these!"

Everyone stood there briefly and watched her walk down the hallway. Yosuke cracked a nervous smile.

"Well," his voice shook slightly, "I guess we all got what we came here for, didn't we?"

Chie scowled and turned to him with a look of disgust. "Whatever. I'm going home for dinner, I don't feel like hanging out with you guys anymore." The other girls nodded.

Teddie hung his head, pouting. His fun always had to be ruined somehow. Yosuke walked up to him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Come on, you perverted bear. Let's get out of here." He started to walk down the hall when Kanji suddenly spoke.

"Hey, where's Senpai?"

Yosuke stopped and looked around. "Oh yeah... did he take off in the middle of that commotion?"

"Aww... Sensei's no fun." Teddie whined.

* * *

"Hey, wait up."

Naoto turned as the silver-haired teen jogged up next to her on the sidewalk. She had slowed her walk considerably once she felt that she was at a safe distance from the hospital, but she still hadn't expected anyone to follow her.

"Oh... Hello Yu-san," She said, obviously surprised that he had come to talk to her alone. Her demeanor changed quickly though, and her eyes suddenly narrowed. "Don't expect any further elaboration from me on my examination results."

Yu's eyes went wide. "Woah- Hey... that's not at all what I was going to say to you." He grimaced, his eyes darting about rapidly. When she appeared unconvinced, he continued, "L-look, I'm sorry about Teddie, he tends to be a bit of a handful. This wasn't the first time he tried to get under the girls' skin. I blame Yosuke, personally. He's supposed to be keeping the kid in check."

"I see. Then what _did _you want to say?" If Naoto was always this cold, getting to know her would be a much more difficult task then he had thought.

He hesitated. The air outside was becoming quite brisk as the sun was setting on the horizon. A gust of wind caused him to tighten up his coat, and he heard the sound of papers fluttering, the ones Naoto held tightly at her side. There was a brief silence, although it felt more like an eternity. He searched his mind as he pretended to be interested in the collection of little shops he had already passed numerous times on his way home from school.

_What was it again? Come on, man... you always take too long to think before responding to something. Umm..._

He chuckled. "Well now it just feels like I've come to talk to you for completely the wrong reasons." _Yes, better to quit while you're ahead. Now let's see if we can make this even more awkward... _Stopping abruptly, he turned left down another road just past the shopping district.

"I-I'll take the scenic route home. Sorry to bug you."

_Damn. It usually isn't this hard. Are you happy Margaret? At least I tried._

As he continued to walk down the road, unable to look back out of embarassment, he heard Naoto call out, "Yu-san! Wait!" Which caused him to stop quickly and look back over his shoulder.

"Huh?"

"Tell me... I glanced at the examination results as I left. Why didn't I find your results with the others?" _Ah._

"My results? You mean they're not in there?"

"No. And I didn't drop any on the way out." She took a breath and adjusted her cap. "Are you sure you're not... hiding something?"

The question came as somewhat of a shock to Yu, even though he knew he was in fact hiding something. It was difficult to make out Naoto's face, her figure was silhouetted by the setting sun over the shops behing her. It was an oddly appropriate circumstance given that Yu suddenly felt like he was being interrogated.

"Well, Teddie must have grabbed the rest before mine came out then. You guys did finish before me."

She nodded, apparently satisfied with his response. "Right. That does make sense. Sorry I asked, but curiosity got the best of me."

"No worries. Goodnight, Naoto-kun." Yu was now very sure he just wanted to go home and be done with the day. He didn't want to think about test results or 'strengthening bonds' anymore. He just wanted to lie down and let his mind drift off into the fog of sleep. But when he started to turn down the road once again, she called to him.

"Y-Yu-san!"

"Hm?"

"You don't have to go that way... my apartment is just past the flood plains. Would... you mind accompanying me until then?" Then she added, "I have some details about the case I'd like to go over with you on the way."

_"Interesting..." _He thought, _"Maybe Naoto actually does want to connect with us all. Maybe her cold, businesslike behavior really is just a defense mechanism. Just like her shadow implied..." _

_"...Or could it just be that she feels bad about accusing me of wanting to know more about her size?"_

"Sure. Looks like I might get rained on if I go this way anyway. The clouds over here are beginning to look rather nasty."

He smiled, buttoned up his fall jacket and walked back up to meet the detective. Meanwhile, he felt an odd sensation in the back of his mind, like a small, long forgotten memory being brought back to light. A picture, like on one of Igor's mysterious tarot cards. _A mask one wears to face life's hardships._

_Happy NOW, Margaret?  
_

* * *

Sayoko pulled on her coat and rummaged through her pockets until she found her keys. She walked down the long corridor from the break room past the reception area. It had been a long day, and even though she wasn't working the full night shift tonight, she had still worked a good twelve hours and was exhausted. One of the doctors from upstairs passed by her and nodded.

"Heading out Sayoko? Be careful, it's been raining tonight and the streets are all wet."

"Yes, thanks, I'll be careful. Have a good night." She smiled and gave a slight wave as she made her way to the exit door.

"Oh, Sayoko?" He called out.

She stopped short and tensed her brow. _"What now?"_

"Did you call the technicians earlier? About the x-ray machine in 312?"

"Yes I did, hours ago. They said they would make it out tomorrow morning."

"I see. Thanks again."

"What was wrong with the machine by the way? We just took an x-ray of a patient a few hours ago and it was working fine."

The doctor looked a bit agitated. "I can't say exactly. Two of the patients we saw earlier today had their results come out... obscured."

Sayoko turned to face him, suddenly forgetting how tired she was. "Obscured. How?"

"Well, blurry, to be exact. One of them was so blurred that we couldn't get any information from it, just general shapes. The other was more clear, just... fuzzy. Much fuzzier then your average reading."

"Ah..." She was far from impressed. "Sounds like some kind of normal malfuction. It should get taken care of in the morning."

"I hope so." The doctor turned away. "Goodnight, Sayoko."

"Goodnight."

The automatic doors slid open, and she was greeted by a gust of cool air and the roaring sound of rain hitting the roofs of parked cars. She pulled the hood over her head and zipped up her coat, before walking away from the bright white lights of the hospital out onto the dark, rainy streets of Inaba at midnight.

* * *

**Alright, let's get the ball rolling on this thing. Now that I have that somewhat lengthy intro out of the way, I shouldn't have to focus so much on exposition in the following chapters. I know fanfiction is a magical genre where you can just jump into the middle of a world and assume that everyone knows the story so far, but it's never felt right to not do any kind of world building regardless.**

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Please review, whether you loved it or hated it, be as harsh as you want. As long as I get feedback I'll be more motivated to keep this going. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Miss Universe, part one

"Now then, concentrate. I will place my hand on a card, and you will reveal to me what appears in your mind's eye. Dig deep into your psyche; these thoughts will take the form of the arcana we will utilize to forge your new persona…"

Yu shifted in his seat to an upright position and stared intently at the tarot cards laid out on the table. He used the dull rumble of the engine and the subtle hum of the blue lights to help draw himself deeper into a meditative state, focusing only on his internal thoughts and how they connected with the cards in front of him. Igor watched silently until he felt that Yu had reached an acceptable level of concentration. He then unfolded his gloved hands from under his nose, bringing his right arm out to hover over the tabletop. He brought it down, and moved it slowly to the left, placing it on top of the leftmost of the three tarot cards lying face down.

"What do you see?"

Yu stared at the card. The first time he participated in the fusion ritual, it was at this point that he blurted out something that came to his mind, an image or some pointless thought he was having. He learned then, after being hushed by Margaret, that this was not at all what Igor wanted. Certain notions are unable to be expressed by words, he found out, and Igor was very adept at teasing out the obtuse images in Yu's mind without trying to give them some kind of meaning or justification.

Igor stared at his face for a moment longer, then nodded. "I see."

The card was flipped over and placed on the table face up. An image appeared on what was initially a blank surface. "Empress."

Margaret, who was gazing at the cards on the table with an intense interest, as she did, displayed a slight smile, and her eyes grew brighter.

Wasting no time, Igor brought his hand over to his right side and placed a finger on the card there.

The more he went through the motions, the more Yu came to understand what thoughts correlated with which arcana. He became somewhat better at directing his mind towards certain outcomes. Sometimes what he perceived was contrary to what he expected, but this time he was fairly sure of what the card on the table would reveal.

"Justice." The blue card rotated by itself, displaying the image of a scale balanced on a sword.

"Very good." Igor grinned. He moved his hand to the middle card, the one closest to where Yu was sitting. "Now, one more."

This one was not as expected.

"Ah," said Igor as the card turned over, "The Hanged Man."

"As I thought," said Margaret. She leaned back, and brought her hand from her chin to rest on top of the large book in her lap. "Now complete the ritual."

Igor tensed for a moment, sensing Margaret's impatience. The woman defied her calm, in-control demeanor whenever a fusion ritual was in process. It was as if she were a child waiting to open the first present at her birthday party. She truly took much pleasure in filling out that massive book of hers with newborn personas.

With an indifferent sounding grunt, Igor waved his arm over the three cards, causing them to lift up into the air. A strange glow emanated from above the table, and the cards hovered there for a moment before crashing into each other with a burst of light. As the glow subsided, a single tarot card floated downward, spinning neatly from the middle, as if on an invisible axis. Igor reached up and gently took the card between his thumb and forefinger, keeping it up in front of him for Yu to see.

The card contained a faint picture of a human form, and Yu had to squint to make it out. It looked to be a woman dressed in white, with golden hair tied up in braids. She was holding what appeared to be a long thread. Her cold, blank eyes seemed to peer into his very soul without even a hint of interest or expectation. Only… acknowledgement.

"Do you feel her presence?" Margaret asked.

"Yes." Yu responded. He did indeed feel as if somehow a door had been unlocked in his mind. Like an answer that seems to come to you out of the blue, long after you had given up on the solution to a problem.

"This is Clotho," said Igor, "the one who spins the thread of fate. She is the one who has been waiting patiently in the depths of your soul, and I'm sure she will serve you well on your journey." He released his grip, and the card in his hand dissolved into blue smoke.

"I see you have taken to heart our advice about bonds." Margaret had just finished scribbling something down in her book. She closed it and turned to Yu with a slight smile on her face. "Without the initiation of the one who holds the fortune arcana, you would not have been able to give birth to this wonderful aspect of yourself. So there is no need to be skeptical, Yu Narukami, the bonds you form with others quite literally give you a greater power of heart."

"…And with it, more powerful personas!" Added Igor, the ends of his grin looking like they might just extend past the outline of his face.

Yu chuckled. "Am I going to get this lecture every time I come here?"

Marie, who up until this time was staring out the window at the fog with complete disinterest, finally came back to reality when she heard Yu speak. "Hey, make sure you're not spending all your time hanging out with that detective kid. I know you have business, but remember you still owe me a steak skewer!"

"_Owe _you? I boughtthem for you last time!" Yu felt a sudden sympathy for his friend Yosuke.

"Yeah, but I said I wanted another one later. Doesn't that mean you owe me?"

"I don't think it works like that…"

"However it works, I want another one, so just come get me. It's been too long since you took me somewhere." It was sometimes hard to remember that Marie was completely ignorant to the outside world, as she spent most of her time here in the velvet room.

'_Probably writing poetry.' _He smiled to himself. "I know, I will soon I promise. I just have a few things to take care of first." He turned to Margaret and Igor. "Alright guys, I've got to go. Until next time." And with that, he vanished from the room.

The three residents sat in silence for moment. Igor stroked his chin before folding his hands together under his nose, closing his eyes to slip into a deep meditation.

Marie crossed her arms and returned her gaze out the window of the moving car. "He's all business, isn't he?" She rested her chin on her palm dejectedly. Something about the fog outside the window intrigued her as much as it made her feel ill. Still, there was something hypnotizing about the soft, billowing wisps of air that passed slowly by.

Margaret was upright in her seat, gazing down at the open book in her lap as she calmly traced her finger across the pages. As she did so, she remarked casually to Igor, "So, what did you sense during the ritual today? Has the boy's reluctance subsided? Has his will become stronger?"

The old man's eyelids lifted, and he wore an expression of slight annoyance on his face. "Possibly," he said. "His reluctance still hinders the fusion process. But his heart has grown stronger, despite this. We will have to wait and see how this situation plays out. He may yet be able to save his soul from deterioration."

Margaret's finger stopped suddenly on the page, for a moment her concentration was broken. "That is… good to hear," she said, before returning to her reading.

* * *

**October 30****th**

Well, he supposed Yosuke deserved it. The boy sat in his chair with his forehead planted on the desktop, his arms dangling listlessly at his sides. The tinny sound of some rock song was still blaring in the headphones hanging around his neck. It was a pitiful sight, and Yu would have had the heart to feel sorry for him, if the boy hadn't dug his own grave this time. A day earlier he had signed Chie, Rise, Yukiko and Naoto's names on a participation form for a school sponsored beauty pageant, without them knowing about it, and without being able to opt out. Needless to say, the girls were out for blood, and they retaliated swiftly and effectively by entering Yosuke into his own kind of beauty pageant the next day. Which brought Yu to the other reason why he would feel no sympathy for the guilty teen…

"Wait a minute here… did you have to sign _us_ up as well?" He said.

"Well I guess not…" Chie replied, fidgeting.

"All for one and one for all!" Yosuke shouted, his forehead making an audible smacking noise at it came unstuck from the desktop. "Come on man, you can't let me do this all by myself!"

"There's no way any of you can opt out after you've been signed up!" Yukiko had her arms folded across her chest, assuming the role of the hotel manager she was often required to play at her family's business. "It's only fair that you guys have to suffer too!"

"This is _so_ not cool." The boy leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and dragging his hands through his hair as if he meant to tear it all out in one go.

"Don't worry!" Rise was much too excited for this dreadful occasion. "We'll make you guys look absolutely adorable! I think we have time to quickly run to Junes and pick out some cute clothes. Senpai, you won't regret it, I promise!"

Rise was as cute as a button, a bouncy teen with bright hazel eyes and a smile that could melt an iceberg. Through her time spent in the limelight as a famous teen idol, she had honed her charm and personal appeal to the point that she could probably get away with murder, if she wanted to. She stood in front of Yu and held her arms behind her back, her loose brown pigtails bouncing as she tilted her head to the side, flashing him one of her world-famous smiles. She radiated a level of adorable that would make any 'Risette' fan submit completely and let her do whatever she wanted to him. But Yu knew her. He had seen her shadow. Nothing good could come of this.

"I'll work with Yu-senpai. Yukiko-senpai, you do Teddie. Chie-senpai, you're with Yosuke." Rise took a commanding stance and pointed to the boys one by one, each of them wincing and turning away like scolded dogs at the sound of their names.

Chie drove a sinister glare into Yosuke and topped it off with a twisted smile. Revenge was too sweet. The boy whimpered, and hid his face in his hands.

"Naoto-kun can you take care of Kanji's makeup?" Rise turned to the short girl standing next to Kanji behind Yosuke's desk. Her dark hair, mostly hidden under a navy blue cabbie hat, was short cropped and messy, as if she had simply toweled it off after a rushed shower and went about dressing for the day. Her clothes consisted of the black Yasogami High uniform specifically made for male students, and a pair of scuffed brown loafers. The high collar of the uniform was bent and wrinkled, never having once been touched by an iron. Her face didn't carry even a hint of makeup. While she didn't have bad skin by any means, it wasn't there to hide the subtle hints of blemishes or give her pale complexion a radiant glow like it did for the other girls.

"Um…" She started, looking every bit as bewildered as the boys.

"Never mind." Rise sighed. "I guess I'll be on double duty."

Yosuke lifted his head from his hands and turned to Yu. "Man, I guess the system worked against us, huh? Looks like we don't have a choice." He smiled sheepishly. "Look, I'll make it up to you guys, I promise. Steak skewers at Junes, on me. For the next week! Just for one little event!"

Yu just shook his head in defeat. Talk about a weird event. Every year Yasogami High School held a Culture Festival, which was meant to be a collection of days where the students worked together to showcase their talent and creativity, transforming their classrooms into fun and interesting venues of learning, at least in theory. What it really was, Yu suspected, was a week to let the teaching staff hang out in the break room to gossip, smoke cigarettes, and generally fuck about, because there certainly wasn't much supervision going on. Each classroom avoided any strictly educational projects and instead came up with things that only bored students stuck in school without any direction would come up with. The students of classroom 2-1 would put on a play, mashing together famous Shakespearean and modern movie scripts in what could only be described as an awkward parody of Romeo and Juliet meets Hamlet with giant robots. Class 1-2 would set up a fortune telling booth. Yu's homeroom, classroom 2-2, came up with the great idea of having a group date café. Exactly who would have the misfortune of walking in on that chamber of awkwardness he had no idea, but he felt sorry for them.

To compliment the occasion, the entire school was invited to attend a beauty pageant, provided there were contestants. Surprisingly the teachers were okay with this, since they must assume it gives kids the enjoyment they crave, and it gives the staff more time yet to fuck about. This is what Yosuke had the girls unwillingly involved in, thinking it would be an amusing joke, and that they could just opt-out if they wanted to. Unfortunately, the teaching staff didn't take too kindly to having their valuable gossip time taken away, so a new rule was put in place, "_no one shall withdraw from the pageant!"_ Talk about entrapment! This year though, presumably as a misguided attempt to embarrass the boys just as much as the girls, a new event was added: A cross-dressing pageant. Yes, with enough participants, a group of unwitting gentlemen could parade across a stage dressed as ladies, in a brutal social crucifixion at the hands of the entire mass of raging, immature high school kids.

There had to be a way out of this. If Yu just put his head down and thought about it, he was sure to come up with something. Not showing up wasn't an option. He couldn't leave Yosuke hanging, and the four of them would surely get big fat marks off of their attendance, as well as the continued ire of their teachers for the remainder of the year. Not to mention the girls would surely find another, more painful way to enact their retribution in the future.

He couldn't suddenly become ill. His uncle Dojima was bringing his little cousin Nanako to the Culture Festival today, God help them. Since he was living with them for the duration of his stay in Inaba, they would surely find out he was faking, and little Nanako would be extremely upset. He didn't know why, but the thought of his cheerful little cousin getting upset at him made his heart sink a bit in his chest. Maybe it was the way she always looked up at him with those big smiling brown eyes as he walked in the door after school and greeted him with a gleeful "Welcome home, big bro!" as if her day could finally start now that he was home. The poor girl was alone at the house so often because of Dojima's long hours at the police station, he could imagine the feeling.

No, that wouldn't do. He'd have to come up with something else. Finding a replacement? Not in the cards. Appeal to the teachers? That wouldn't go over well with the girls. Sabotage the event? There was something… but how? What would he have to do to cancel such an important event to the teachers? The gears in his brain started to turn rapidly. Yes, that's it… He would have to find someone to cause some kind of chaos that would allow the event to be cancelled, like a power outage or a break in a water line. It wouldn't be their fault if something happened that was out of their control! The girls couldn't protest! The four guys would treat them to a nice meal at Junes and it would all be water under the bridge.

The only question was, who did they know that was close enough to help pull off a stunt like this, but also didn't have to show up to the event itself? Who could he convince to go along with his plan? Who was mischievous enough, but was also enough of a wildcard that the teachers wouldn't suspect, or even know about? Wait… of course!

* * *

"I've got it!" Yu exclaimed. "Teddie! Teddie will help us create a distraction! He doesn't have to be here, he's not even a student at our school!"

"What?" Yosuke whipped around, his single small pigtail bobbed on his head, held in place by an adorable strawberry scrunchie. He smelled vaguely of lilacs, and all of a sudden, rage. "That's a great idea dude, wish you would have brought it up _three hours ago!" _He yelled, waving his left arm through the air angrily. His right arm was busy pulling at the plaid miniskirt he was wearing, trying in vain to make it cover more of his exposed thighs than it currently did.

"_Crap." _Sure enough, he was standing next to Yosuke, Kanji, and Teddie behind the stage of the school auditorium, each of them done up in their own way to look as close to pretty ladies as they could possibly get. The curtains were decorated appropriately, adorned with pink hearts and flower cutouts, while the stage was lined with vases containing even more flowers. He could hear the dull roar of hundreds of bored, restless high school students through the curtains, probably waiting impatiently for the few kids who would be the targets of every insult and prank performed for the remainder of the year. This was a nightmare.

The host of the pageant, a member of the faculty whom Yu assumed drew the short straw this year, couldn't be said to be giving it less than his all. He was dressed in a sharp looking suit complete with a bright red goofy bow tie and silly glasses, and a pink wig to top it all off. Yes, this man definitely lost a bet, or his job was on the line if this was the level he was bringing himself to. The man stood in the middle of the stage trying to warm up the crowd, but his words were getting lost amongst the yelling and jeering of the crowd.

In the next few minutes, which seemed more to Yu like hours, the host brought each contestant onto the stage like an executioner dragging a death row prisoner up to the noose. He would then ask the contestant a question, before moving on to the next. First up, was Yosuke.

The second year student hung his head low, shuffled out from behind the curtain, and was immediately welcomed by loud gasps, followed by waves of deafening laughter. His outfit, courtesy of Chie, had a very 'summery' flavor to it. A tan sweater over a collared white blouse complimented the boy's auburn hair, which wasn't quite long enough to fit into one semi-convincing pigtail. His right hand continued to pull down at his skirt, trying to no avail to hide his exposed legs, which were only covered from the knee down with long black socks. Man, Chie really outdid herself on this one. Yosuke looked absolutely miserable, unable to tear his gaze from the tops of his feet. Cries of "No! My eyes!" and "Oh my God, it's too horrible!" rose out of the sea of laughter. Yu though for a second that his friend had some certain feminine features to his face, but the make-up only served to make his masculine ones that much more apparent, like his square jaw and prominent brow. It made the whole outfit even more jarring.

The host tried for a minute to calm everyone down, before telling them a bit about Yosuke, complimenting him on his outfit, and asking if he dressed like that often, to which the boy responded with a shaky yet indignant "H-hell no!" only triggering more laughter. Then it was Kanji's turn.

Kanji lumbered onto the stage clumsily, looking far from a woman, rather more like a gorilla attempting to disguise himself as a human female. He was wearing a white form-fitting dress, which his six-foot three muscular frame was trying desperately to burst out of. His legs wobbled and buckled under him as he tried to walk with his high heels clomping loudly on the wooden floor. The hair-sprayed blond perm on top of his head remained solid as a rock despite the disturbance. His makeup was obviously a rush job, a result of Rise trying to take on two cross-dressers at once. She would be spending most of her time on her Senpai, naturally. Lipstick appeared to be applied more around the boy's lips than actually on them, and the blue eye shadow was laid on so thick and heavy that it was no wonder his eyelids were stuck in a dull, half-closed position.

One time not too long ago, Kanji had taken on an entire biker gang with nothing but his bare hands. And he had _won._ Apparently it was because they were making too much noise outside of his mother's textile shop while they were in town, and if there was one thing that set Kanji off it was someone upsetting his mother. The first-year's reputation was almost legendary. He was not someone you wanted to piss off, let alone point and laugh at maniacally. But that is exactly what happened when this lanky giant shuffled into the spotlight, his gaze downcast, humiliated. Strength in numbers, Yu supposed. Or did the laughter stem from relief? Was it from seeing this once feared high-school roughneck, the one even the cops thought twice before approaching, reduced to a joke, his reputation forever tarnished?

Kanji arrived at his position beside Yosuke, the daughter of Marilyn Monroe and Frankenstein's monster next to Little Mister Strawberry. As horrible as he felt for the two of them, and for himself, he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. Kanji let out a gruff "Hey" and the audience exploded into laughter. He looked dismally down at the stage. Yu knew Kanji well, he put on a tough exterior but he was probably the sweetest kid at Yasogami High once you got to know him. He was obviously traumatized, the poor bastard.

After the host managed to get a few stumbling words out of Kanji, he began to introduce the next participant. Yu felt the lump he had been carrying in his throat for the past hour or so expand to the point where he could hardly breathe. His mouth went dry. His heart felt like it was trying to drive its way out of his chest, each thudding beat echoing loudly in his skull. _"Come on, Yu," _he thought to himself, _"You've been fighting nightmarish shadows in the depths of the TV world all this time and you can't handle _this?" Well, he didn't have to wear a dress while fighting shadows. Besides, that's where he was truly in his element. "_You're fine, unflappable as ever. Keep your cool, and this thing will be over before you know it. Then you can have a laugh with the girls at how embarrassed Yosuke was." _

"Miss Yu Narukami!" The host yelled to an uproar of applause. It appeared the students were now having a blast.

He couldn't blame Rise for trying. She had spent much more time on him than Kanji, and it showed. He wore a black school girl outfit, one of the standard issues at the high school, with a cute yellow scarf tied loosely around his neck, knee high black stockings, and a pair of shiny black shoes. Rise used minimal makeup, to his relief, but the best part about the outfit had to be the hair extensions. She managed to find a set of giant braids that matched his silver hair color perfectly. They connected to the bottom of his hair seamlessly in the back, and rested on his shoulders like two big pieces of gray rope. To accessorize, Rise had gone to the antique weapons store in the shopping district and picked him up a sleek looking wooden katana, which he rested on his shoulder. This was possibly a caring gesture to make Yu feel a bit more comfortable with the whole ordeal, since he generally wielded a katana while taking on shadows inside the television. Or it could have been an ironic sense of humor. All in all, the outfit gave off the vibe of a spunky school girl samurai. Just what he always wanted to be… Yu supposed it could have been worse. Kanji looked more haphazard, and Yosuke looked more awkward. He swallowed the lump in his throat, took a deep breath, and began to walk out from backstage.

The laughter hit him like a wall, knocking him back and filling his ears with the sound of malicious triumph. He heard distinct voices through the din, "Oh God, make it stop!" and "Man, I really thought he was cooler than that." More laughing. He dragged himself over next to Kanji, who gave him a look that appeared to be embarrassment mixed with extreme anger. Now was not a good time to piss off Kanji. Yosuke was still staring at his feet, wincing and surely wanting someone to just end it all for him right then and there.

He took a look out at the audience. Most of them were on their feet, at least the ones who weren't doubled over and clutching their sides in laughing fits. They were standing on the level floor of the auditorium, which was normally the floor of the gymnasium where the basketball team practiced. Oh man… Kou was probably out there too, wondering what the hell his friend was thinking. He couldn't catch a glimpse of Chie, Rise, Yukiko or Naoto. The only things he could see were hundreds of cackling, jeering faces. This was so lame.

For most of his life, Yu had been a fairly reserved boy. Quiet and somewhat shy at first glance, he mostly kept to himself throughout grade school, only opening up to the few people he became close with. Those who knew him saw him as someone with exquisite self-control, and an ability to adapt quickly to most social situations. Despite his initial shyness, Yu had always been full of a certain kind of confidence that was apparent to those that knew him. It wasn't the typical kind, the kind one "musters up" when faced with an intimidating situation. It was more like the ability to be okay with uncertainty, to let come what may without dwelling too much on the consequences. This was undoubtedly an attitude that he had picked up from his stepfather, who had been a mentor to the boy since his mother remarried some time before he became a teenager.

The man whom he now called his father was a tall, weathered looking gentleman with dark hair and a youthful energy that defied his true age. He was a successful businessman, and was used to standing in front of crowds many times the size of the one in this high school gymnasium. Yu, however, was not. Never had he stood in front of this many people for any occasion, let alone one as ridiculous as this. His special kind of confidence, at least this time, would have to be "mustered".

_"Alright," _he thought. _"Just relax. There's a way to make this better for yourself. Any situation can be better. It's all in the way you approach it." _Sweat rolled down his forehead. The wooden handle of his mock katana was beginning to become harder to hold on to with the amount of liquid that sat in his palms. _"Think of the Velvet Room. What does Igor ask you to do? Focus. Let nothing else bother you." _He tried to imagine the walls of the limousine creeping up and closing around him, the bright stage lights dimming to a soft blue glow. The hum of the engine, the slight tinkling of vibrating champagne glasses in the bar. The familiar faces sitting in a semicircle in front of him, Marie, Igor, Margaret. Margaret with her book open in her lap, and Igor placing tarot cards on the table, preparing the ritual… _"Focus."_

Yu smiled a cocky, if awkward grin. This strategy actually seemed to be working! The roaring crowd became the sound of the engine, their faces were the fog outside the windows. The sweat began to lift off of his brow, and he gradually started to feel lighter. The katana, which just a moment ago felt like it was trying to bury itself into his clavicle, became comfortable. He surveyed the crowd once more. "_You all look so small from up here," _he thought to himself. "_Like a bunch of little laughing monkeys._

_ "Inaba… A small town full of small people." _He was unable to contain a slight chuckle at this. "_That's something Dad would say, isn't it? God dammit, I must look ridiculous!" _His face grew brighter, while inside his head he burst into a fit of laughter. What else would his father say? "_Let 'em laugh, show a little vulnerability, that way they feel at ease." _That familiar voice boomed in his head, carrying its usual notes of a subtle, unexpected charisma._ "Before long you'll have 'em in the palm of your hand, and you can get whatever you want from them! You're the King of Inaba, baby!" _He felt calm wash over him. His eyelids lowered and his lips pulled back into a satisfied grin. The lump in his throat had completely vanished.

He noticed the host turning to him, looking even more ridiculous close up in that vibrant pink wig. "Well, _Narukami-chan_, it sounds like the crowd is in quite an uproar over you!" His voice echoed out over the speakers, as the room grew quieter. "Tell me then, who signed you up? Was it a dare? Was it a lost bet? Was it forced upon you by your friends?" He started to push the microphone in Yu's direction, but stopped, and brought it back as he thought of something else to say. "Or could it be," he continued, chuckling, "That you signed _yourself_ up?" Snickers and loud mumbling could be heard from different parts of the auditorium at the prospect of someone actually _volunteering_ for this madness. The host grinned and lowered the microphone to the front of the boy's face.

Yu stared out into the crowd with an exceptionally relaxed look in his eyes, a cocky half smile stuck on his face. He then leaned into the microphone. "Damn straight I did," he said, without a hint of shame in his voice.

* * *

The front gate of Yasogami high school was probably the most peaceful place to be at the moment, since all the students were packed into the auditorium at the far side of the building. Except for a cool autumn breeze sifting through the brightly colored leaves of the trees surrounding the school, all was quiet. It was a much needed contrast to the cacophony of the Culture Festival events, and the perfect place for Yu to take a breather and calm his nerves. He sat on the stairs leading up to the glass doors of the entrance, legs spread apart, leaning on his knees. His wooden katana was held loosely in his left hand, the blade resting on a stair just below his feet. His skirt billowed in the wind, and his pigtails danced on his shoulders.

He had created quite a racket with his comment on the stage, the crowd of teenagers letting out a simultaneous "OoooooOOOOOoooo!" before exploding into laughter. Yosuke and Kanji had looked up at him with utter confusion in their heavily shadowed eyes. Then Teddie had come on after, and had been the one to truly steal the show. He pulled off looking like a female the most successfully, and bounded onstage with such confidence that Yu couldn't help but feel a little… jealous? Regardless, the whole ordeal had ended uneventfully and soon enough it was the girls' turn to be in the spotlight. Yosuke appeared to lighten up when he and Kanji left the stage, eager to change back into normal clothes and get into the audience so he could gawk at the ladies with the rest of the hormone-crazed teenagers. He even took a jab at Kanji about wanting to see Naoto in a swimsuit, because he knew it made the lumbering teen squirm. Kanji's face had turned a deep shade of crimson, sweat beaded up on his forehead and he began to stutter something along the lines of "I-it's n-n-not like that, man!" although it was fairly incomprehensible, and mainly under his breath.

It was then that Yu received a text message from his uncle Dojima, telling him that he was with Nanako, walking over to the school to check out the festival, and that they were a few minutes away. Yu panicked, and before Yosuke could tell him that he was going to miss the beauty pageant, or before Kanji could warn him that he was still wearing women's clothing, the silver-haired cross-dresser bolted behind the stage and down the empty hallway leading to the front entrance.

Of course, his anxiety had been all for nothing. He should have known better. It wasn't unlike Dojima to tell him he was almost there, when in fact he was still at least two miles away, most likely. It was his Uncle's way of making sure Yu wasn't a second late. It was just as well, he supposed, as he didn't mind having a moment away from everybody else, even if it meant he would be missing the whole reason he was involved in the first place. He found that he had little interest in that kind of thing, anyway. He knew what would happen, each of the girls would walk onto the stage one by one, getting a round of hoots and cheers from the boys, and silent eye rolling followed by gossipy whispers from the girls. Chie would walk on timidly, probably sweating and tapping her foot, trying to make moves for the nearest exit. Yukiko would present an air of confidence but would ultimately end up stumbling over her words when the microphone got to her. Rise… Rise would be Risette. She would treat the whole event for what it was, a popularity contest in which she was the queen. She would probably blow lots of kisses that would make the boys melt and send the girls into fits of jealous rage.

Then there was Naoto… Actually, he wasn't entirely sure how Naoto would handle things. He couldn't see her putting any effort into her own presentation. She would probably be un-ironically wearing boy's clothing, maybe her heavy detective coat, and definitely her blue cabbie hat. She would come out, stand there awkwardly and give one-word answers to whatever the host had to ask her. She would likely be the most purposefully bland contestant of the four, and she would still give Kanji a nosebleed.

Yasogami High School sat on a hilltop at the northeast end of Inaba. From here, Yu could see the flood plains stretching out below him, the park benches mostly empty except for one, in which sat an old man holding what appeared to be his calico cat in his lap. Someone else was fishing in the river nearby, and further along the banks he could barely make out an elderly couple taking an early afternoon stroll together. Past the flood plains was the small cluster of apartments and stores of the main shopping district. It was hard to make out anything from there, but he was sure it wasn't too busy right now. Beyond that, there was a smattering of small neighborhoods, one of them containing his Uncle's home, and then nothing but farmland and miles of green, rolling hills. This really was a small town. _"...F__ull of small people..."_

_"Shut up, Dad."_

He glanced down again at the riverbanks. On the path just up the hill near the river, two figures were walking out from under the shade of a tree with bright orange leaves. One of them was taller, he was wearing a bright red tie and was holding a coat with one hand as it draped over his shoulder. His other hand was attached to the arm of the other figure's, a much smaller one wearing a pink outfit and carrying a backpack. Yu smiled. It was about time they got here.

Just then, there was a sound behind him that made him jump slightly. The door to the front entrance had been banged open. Yu turned around and saw someone scuffle outside, tightening their high-collared navy coat as a breeze blew past, and securing a blue cabbie hat onto their head with a quick tug of the bill. It was Naoto, and she barely noticed Yu as she proceeded to drop herself down on a step at the opposite side of the stairway in a nervous fashion. Reaching into her pocket, she withdrew a white envelope, and began to examine it intently, squinting at its surface, holding it up to the sunlight to try and see what was silhouetted inside. Had she even realized there was someone else out here?

Yu watched her for a moment, unsure if he should break her out of her intense focus. Then he spoke up.

"Hey," he said, somewhat stupidly.

She jumped, quickly stuffing the envelope inside of her coat instinctively, and whipping her head around to face him. Her blue-grey eyes darted around his body, trying to determine if she recognized this individual, this… girl?

"Ah…" she spoke, "Excuse me, I didn't realize there was someone else here." She began to stand up. "I'll just be on my—" Her eyes suddenly widened in recognition.

Yu stared at her, eyebrows lifted with a lopsided grin on his face, finding this whole situation incredibly amusing.

"S-Senpai! It's you!" She exclaimed after a moment of pause, her voice pitching up an octave. "Why on earth are you dressed like that?"

"Well, you know, the fall weather can be _oh_ so chilly on the knees, so I've decided to switch to a longer skirt today," he joked, his voice _also_ pitching up an octave. Maybe two.

Naoto, for a brief instant, became even more confused, before her wits returned to her and she gave him a hint of a smile, mostly ignoring his silly comment. "Of course… the cross-dressing pageant. I'm sorry I missed it, but we were busy preparing for the _other _pageant." There was no disguising the sour tone she gave to the end of that sentence.

"Yeah." Yu's voice returned to normal. "Which begs the question… why are you out here when you should be in the auditorium? Isn't that happening right now?"

"It is." She sat back down on the stairs, this time a bit closer to him. She let out a sigh, dropping her chin to her chest, so that her collar obscured most of her face. "I… couldn't do it. I got too embarrassed, and snuck out from backstage."

"Wow… so you just ran away and that was that?" He thought of the marks she would get on her attendance, and the importance she always put on being punctual and getting good grades. He also noticed her jaw clenching slightly after she heard the words 'ran away'.

"I just couldn't do it. I can't just stand in front of a crowd and look pretty like Rise-chan and Yukiko-senpai. Besides, the whole endeavor strikes me as being fairly sexist, anyway."

Yu tilted his head and thought for a moment. "Guess I can't argue with that."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I know it's only fair considering what we put you all through, even though Yosuke-san was clearly the only guilty one. It must have been nerve-wracking." She glanced once again at Yu's outfit, giving him an awkward look of sympathy.

"Well, it _was_ pretty rough. But don't worry about it." He grinned at her.

She gave a light chuckle. "You are always extraordinarily collected about things like this, Yu-san." _Heh, I wish… _"It's no wonder they made you the leader."

"I guess." The smile slowly faded from Yu's lips, and he turned his head down to the ground. He brushed a small pebble out from between his feet with the blade of his wooden katana. It flew out and bounced a few times on the pavement below before disappearing into the bushes. Naoto eyed him intently.

Yu looked out at the landscape below. He could see the figures of Dojima and Nanako reaching the base of the hill to the school. They would be at the steps in a few minutes. Lately he and Naoto hadn't had too much time to talk, at least since the time at the hospital. Tests were coming up, so Yu was forced to spend a lot of his time studying, between working part time jobs as a hospital janitor or a tutor. He did get brief moments after school occasionally when the group would meet for dinner at Junes. There they would talk mainly about schoolwork, gossip, or about the currently stagnating investigation into the midnight channel murders. There were no leads at the time to work from. That is, until Yu received a sinister warning letter at the Dojima residence one night after work. He found it sitting on the table near the front door, with his name written in blue writing. Nanako must have brought it in from outside earlier that day. It was contained in a minimal white envelope, and it read simply "Don't rescue anyone else." The sender's name or a return address were nowhere to be found. Naoto had mentioned later that it wasn't much to go off of, other than whoever wrote it obviously had Yu's address. It made him uneasy, but Yu decided to try and put it out of his mind for now and focus on schoolwork until anything else came up.

During this time, his visits to the Velvet Room became less frequent as his persona abilities began to stagnate along with the investigation. He had little reason to attend unless he was participating in a fusion ritual. Plus, as much as he enjoyed seeing Marie, Margaret had once told him that the bond he had formed with her had reached the peak of its power, and he could no longer draw energy from it to strengthen his personas at the moment. So, even though he liked the moody teen's company, and was glad to help her escape the boredom of the blue limousine from time to time, he had more important things to attend to. This didn't stop the residents from nagging him like a couple of overbearing parents about strengthening his bonds and being diligent in his training. Until he received the warning letter, he took the advice, as usual, with a grain of salt. Now though, his resolve had slowly come back to him as he realized he should be prepared for anything.

The moment of silence between the two lingered for a bit too long, before Naoto finally spoke. "Actually, Senpai, it's good that you are here."

Yu turned to her inquisitively, having been busy rolling pebbles around on the ground with the end of his sword. She hesitated for a second, unsure if she should have spoken up at all. Then she reached into her coat and withdrew the envelope.

"I found this in my locker as I was leaving the pageant. It appears to be a note of some kind."

"A challenge to a duel?" Yu asked dryly, sounding almost like he was genuinely convinced it was the case.

Naoto snorted and burst out laughing, taking Yu by complete surprise. It was rare to get even a small chuckle out of her, let alone full-on laughter. This was definitely a sight he'd never seen before, and all over a joke that he thought would be charmingly corny, at best. As she covered her mouth with the back of her hand and bent over, trying to stifle the laugh as best she could, he noticed how… different she looked with a full, genuine smile across her face.

"You—Haha! You certainly are old fashioned, aren't you?"

Yu's big dumb grin returned. Naoto calmed herself finally and cleared her throat.

"Ahem. No, no I highly doubt that's the case," she sniffed lightly and collected herself once more. "At first I thought it was some kind of love letter. I have received those in the past, although I generally pay them no mind."

"No?" Yu asked, "Why not?"

"Because I have no time for callow love affairs," she replied quickly and indignantly. "I assume it's the same for you?"

"Hm. Yeah I guess." Was that true? Yu knew that he enjoyed getting a love letter sometimes. Whether or not he felt the need to follow up on it, it always made him feel good, at least.

"Anyway… it is very uncharacteristic of a love letter, there is no frilly writing, no hearts, and my name isn't written on it..."

"_Hearts…? Does she get love letters from both guys _and _girls?"_

"Besides, from what I can see through the envelope, it may be a photo of some kind." She held the envelope up to the sun once again, as if to make sure she was right the first time.

"So…" Yu said, thoughtfully, "You think it might have something to do with the investigation?"

She nodded. "Precisely. The culprit knows that I have been working on the case. It makes sense that they would be able to track down my whereabouts, even more sense than it would with you and your warning letter.

"I thought that you would be interested in seeing what's inside. Besides, I trust your judgment more than the others, currently. It would be good to have someone to discuss this with."

"Right." It was a roundabout method, but he actually felt that the detective might have been paying him a compliment, in her own little way.

Suddenly, he felt the wheel of fate hitch and begin to turn slowly. In his mind, Clotho was preparing the threads to be spun. Her cold, unblinking eyes stared out at him, peered into his soul as she spoke to him in a hollow, listless voice, "_The bonds must be strengthened…"_

He waved at Nanako and Dojima, who were almost at the front gates. Dojima lifted his hand and waved back awkwardly; unsure of whom this tall, grey haired girl was greeting them at the stairs to the entrance.

"Ah, detective Dojima and little Nanako-chan!" Naoto exclaimed, and then turned to Yu with a disappointed look in her eyes. "I see you have another engagement… perhaps another time?"

"Nah, they are just here to see the Culture Festival. We can get together after school gets out to discuss it." He stood up, his skirt and pigtails catching a gust of autumn air. He placed his katana back on his shoulder. "Until then, why don't you help me give these two a tour?"

Naoto looked up at him and nodded, a little worried but more than a little interested as to what Dojima and Nanako would have to say about his outfit. "Very well. We'll talk afterwards, then."

The velvet room crept back up into his vision. He saw Igor with cards laid out on the table in front of him, and Margaret waiting expectantly with that massive book open in her lap. She smiled and winked at him, while the old man next to her nodded and grinned… Just grinned at him with that impossibly large mouth full of bright white teeth. "_Alright old man, I know. I'll be back there soon to create a new persona for you."_

Then, as if it was a subconscious response to the residents' expectant gazes, the image of Naoto's face just a minute ago as she burst into a fit of laughter entered his mind. For no apparent reason, and to his own surprise, something made him pause as if an insect or piece of debris had just flew by his head, his brain trying to come up with a quick rationalization before writing it off as unimportant. For a moment so fleeting there was barely time to notice, he felt a burning hot resentment towards Igor and that god damned blue room.

* * *

**Alright, alright, so let me explain. This chapter was originally going to be twice as long and contain much more actual plot events, but after writing half of it I decided I was much too lazy to keep going right now. I promise the story picks up soon and becomes much more interesting, also deviating from the original plot much more than it has.**

**For those of you nice enough to read through the whole thing, if I could trouble you for a review that would be great! Good, bad, whatever as long as it's constructive I'll take it. Can you get some idea of Yu's character with this chapter? Can you see where things might be headed? Any technical/writing critiques?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Miss Universe, part two

As the blinding flash subsided, Yu was able to refocus his vision on the spinning card in front of him. The walls of the limousine's interior came back into focus, the hum of the engine returned and the pale blue faces of the Velvet Room's residents appeared normal again. The ritual was complete. The spinning card slowed and Igor once again plucked it out of the air with his thumb and forefinger. "This," he said with an impressive amount of enthusiasm, "Is Lachesis. Do you see her within your soul?"

"Yeah," Yu said, entranced by the image on the card, the image of a woman with braided blonde hair and red clothing, staring at him with the same soulless gaze as the one before.

"She is the one who measures the threads, spun by her sister, that will determine a person's fate." Igor chuckled. "I see that your power is steadily growing, my boy. You may in fact become the one who can reach through the fog of deception and learn the truth…" The card vanished from his hand in a second flash of light. Margaret scribbled something furiously in her open book.

"That's good to hear," Yu said with an unconvincing smile. He was surprised he made it through today's ritual, as he felt especially unfocused. His thoughts kept returning to what happened earlier. It wasn't uncommon for someone to expose to Yu their deeper secrets or insecurities during the progression of the bond. But what was unexpected was something that came dangerously close to happening… he'd almost slipped up, almost found himself exposing a weak spot. A reversal in that sense he knew would have ruined everything.

Igor flooded his face with a toothy grin. "I certainly look forward to what comes from your soul the next time we meet."

"Me too, Igor," Yu said and then gave a light laugh. "I'm tired, though, it's been a long day. I'll see you guys next time."

He started to fade out of the room, when Marie called out, "Hey, punk. You owe me steak skewers! Or did you forget already?" She sat up with her arms crossed, an intimidating glare aimed at his half-opaque features.

"Ah." His voice had become more faint, distant. He responded nervously, "N-no, I didn't forget, Marie. Soon enough, I promise." Then, he was gone.

Margaret turned to the old man, whose grin had shrunk behind his folded, gloved hands. "Did you sense what I sensed?" She asked. "A diminished resolve?"

"I did," he responded, the jovial tone in his voice replaced with a sinister calm.

"What does this mean?"

"I don't know." He almost snapped at her. "All I do know is that if our guest walks down the wrong path in his quest, he will no longer be welcome here in this room."

A look of concern crossed the woman's face. It was coupled with a feeling of understanding… She knew what the terms of the contract entailed. Looking back down at her book, she spoke softly, "I hope it doesn't come to that."

"Indeed," he murmured. His smile had now vanished completely.

* * *

**October 30****th****, After School**

_TAP TAP TAP_

"_No marks or impressions on the outside…"_

_TAP TAP_

"_The surface is in fact clean and bright white; this appears to be a brand new envelope."_

_TAP TAP TAP_

"_It seems to have been sealed in a hurry…"_

_TAP TAP TAP TAP_

"Aren't you going to open it?"

Naoto's eyes shot up to meet Yu's, which were currently fixed on the detective with a sharp curiosity. She was hunched over the picnic table, her chin resting on her forearm, while her other hand held the envelope by the corner. The bottom of it rested on the wooden surface where she had been tapping it repeatedly, examining it for what Yu thought to be almost five minutes.

Clearing her throat and sitting up abruptly, her eyes quickly slipped away from his gaze. She had always been what her grandfather had called a 'close reader', which meant that she tended to hover her face as close to the page as possible, as if each word contained a thousand more within itself. Her favorite way to read, in fact, was to set a book up on a table in front of her, cross her arms over the bottom of the page, lean her body forward and place her chin right on top of her arms, inches away from the text. She would stay this way for hours on end. Sure it wasn't the most efficient method, or the most ergonomic (it had been one of the main causes of her struggle with proper posture, after all), but it was her way and she liked doing it. Besides, her grandfather sometimes mentioned that it was a sign of a meticulous detective.

"So why were you tapping it against the table? It's easier to get it out through the top, you know."

Sometimes she had trouble discerning whether Yu had an odd sense of humor, or was just that dense. He had little in his tone of voice that would differentiate.

"Apologies," she said, "I was trying to see if there was anything else hidden around or behind the photograph. Something potentially dangerous, perhaps." She met his eyes a second time, only to find hers once again darting off to the side. Reaching up, she pulled up on the collar of her undershirt in a nervous fashion.

"Everything ok?" He asked, noticing her fidgeting anxiously.

"Yes… it's just that-" She hesitated briefly, "Well, Yu-san… you had plenty of time to change after school ended, so why is it that you are still dressed like that?"

He glanced down at his attire, and confirmed that he was indeed still wearing the Yasogami High girl's uniform Rise had made him for the festival. He sat opposite Naoto at a picnic table, facing away from her as he leaned back with his elbows on the tabletop. His legs were spread apart, heels dug into the grass, and the cool breeze felt oddly refreshing as it rushed up under his heavy cotton skirt. His wooden katana was propped up beside him.

"Hmm, I'm not sure," he replied. Since his mild triumph of willpower at the Culture Festival, he had almost completely forgotten that he was wearing it. "You know to be honest, it's surprisingly comfortable."

"Perhaps it is a bit more 'freeing'," she said, with a nervous smile that seemed to be uncertain of whether or not to be a frown. "It doesn't seem that comfortable to me, though."

"You know that reminds me..." The boy tilted his head back to look at her out of the corner of his eye. "Naoto-kun, how do you convince people so easily that you're not a girl?"

Not at all prepared for a question like that, although in hindsight she realized she should have been. She sat up a little too straight, looking slightly irritated.

"Hm? What are you asking me for Narukami-san? Are you seeking advice?"

"I was just wondering, I guess. Even though Rise and Chie tried their hardest, I don't think we could've fooled anyone who cared to give us a second glance. But you had us all convinced from the start. I was surprised. _Kanji _was surprised to find out. Yet now that we all know the real _you_, I don't think we could ever see you as anything other than you. The girl you. Know what I mean?"

"The 'real' me? _Hmph_." Naoto folded her arms in front of her chest. "I've always preferred to dress this way, although I can remember a time when I wasn't strictly wearing men's clothing. But to answer your question, the key item is probably the cologne."

"The cologne…?" Yu absently played with one of his braids while he looked at her curiously.

"Yes. Scent is linked closely to memory and recognition. It's just as important as the visual aspect of a disguise. If someone is suspicious of my appearance, the scent of men's cologne can often convince them subconsciously." She answered matter-of-factly, but couldn't hide the tint of embarrassment that crept up onto her cheeks. "Of course, I stopped wearing it after the whole school found out. It seemed pointless after that. Besides, I myself am not particularly fond of the odor."

"Cologne… huh…" Yu repeated in a thoughtful voice, as if he had reached some kind of personal epiphany.

"Mm. I can give you all the tips you want after we take care of the task at hand, Yu-san. Although I suspect Dojima-san would not approve of your cross-dressing habits."

Yu laughed out loud and turned back to face away from the table. "It's not like that, really."

He sighed and gazed up at the sky above them, streaks of clouds drifted by painted with orange and magenta hues by the setting sun. He could hear the sounds of the water rushing by near the riverbank below them. It was lighter sounding than usual, a sign that it had calmed after several days without rain.

The two of them had arrived at the flood plains after saying goodbye to Nanako and Dojima when they had finished their tour of the Culture Festival. It had all gone very smoothly, Nanako had been as wide-eyed and interested as he expected, even considering the randomness and utter laziness of some of the presentations. She had even said that Yu looked like a pretty lady in his dress, causing him to give her an awkward 'thanks?' and mention that she should give that message to Rise-chan. Dojima felt the need at one point to tell the boy to change back into his normal clothes or else… but decided to forget it and wrote off the wardrobe as something kids these days might be into.

Afterwards, finding a secluded spot under a gazebo in the plains wasn't too hard. Most of the kids would simply pass right by after school, as the majority of them hung out in the shopping district or around the Junes department store. Here Yu took a second to relax and admire the tranquility of the afternoon sunset. It was nice having this time to recharge after a long day at school, if only for a brief moment. He was here for business, after all, on more than one account.

It was hard to ignore the connection between this white envelope Naoto held in her hand and the warning letter he had received only days ago. This was one reason for his interest. In both situations there was no writing on the outside, and the paper was in mint condition, as if it had been sealed shortly before dropping it off. But perhaps just as important as this new development, he was here to reach a new level of trust with the detective. A personal connection, one that would allow him to peel away the layers of her thick emotional shell and unlock new doors of power within himself. How he went about this was the tricky part. But, he had secured bonds with others before with relative ease, and now he knew the procedure fairly well. First, he would get a sense of her personality, her struggles, what drives her. This part was considerably easier after witnessing her shadow in the TV world, it gave him insight into the aspects of her being that she would never disclose to anyone. It was through her shadow that he first learned of her true gender, which she kept hidden under men's clothing and a slightly deeper tone of voice. And it was where he saw first hand her struggle to be taken seriously by an oppressive, unjust society that ignored her simply for being a child, or being female. This struggle was at the root of her personality, one that Yu could expand on if needed. Second, he would have to assume the role of the person she wanted him to be. Then eventually, the person she _needed_ him to be. So today, he would be 'detective Yu'. And he would be detective Shirogane's trusty sidekick.

Bracing himself with the katana as a pivot, he spun himself around and dropped his legs under the picnic table to face Naoto. "Right," he said. "Let's get down to business."

Naoto nodded. "Then let me quickly go over what we know before we open the envelope, considering it could contain some kind of dangerous substance." She tapped it lightly on the tabletop once more.

"It appeared in my locker sometime between lunch and early afternoon. I know this because I go to my locker regularly after lunch, and there was nothing there at the time."

"So it was obviously someone who wasn't attending the culture festival." Yu added.

"Right. They could have been using the event as an opportunity to sneak a letter in without being spotted. This could easily mean that our culprit is not a student, as there would be no one near the entrance to witness a stranger coming in.

"Then there is the haphazard seal, the lack of any markings and the pristine condition of the envelope. This leads me to believe that it was put together in a hurry and without much forethought."

"Just like my warning letter."

"Except for the contents, of course, which appears to be some kind of photograph instead of a written letter."

"But why would the murderer leave a photo…" Yu trailed off as several thoughts crossed his mind. There could be many possibilities, but naturally the direst were the ones that came to the forefront. A photo of the next victim; A photo of a _current_ victim, taunting them; A photo of a previous victim? Saki Konishi, the wavy-haired high schooler whose body was found contorted, tangled in a television antenna. Mayumi Yamano, the famous reporter dangling upside down from a telephone pole. The pictures scrawled with the sinister words "You're next!"

"We won't know until we see it." Naoto replied calmly. "From the condition of the envelope, and from what I've gathered from trying to see inside, there doesn't appear to be anything harmful about it."

"So let's open it."

Naoto gazed down at the item in her hands. "Alright," she said. "The moment of truth."

She held the envelope with her left hand, and with her right began to use her thumb to push up the unsealed part of the opening. Careful not to tear the paper, she slowly slid her thumb under the seal and broke it. Using her thumb and forefinger, she lightly pinched the very edge of the protruding photograph. If there were a pair of tweezers available, she surely would have used them to prevent any unneeded marks. The photo slid out of the envelope, and she held it in front of her, staring down at it with a look of confusion.

Yu watched her face tighten, her eyes squint and her brows lower, her lips pursed together tightly. She was in full concentration, and he would have been hesitant to interrupt her if his anticipation wasn't currently gnawing at him painfully.

"Well?" He asked impatiently.

"It's…" Her eyes were locked on the item in her hands "It's… a postcard!" She exclaimed, with notes of both frustration and relief.

"A postcard?" He repeated, bewildered.

She turned the envelope around showed him what she had held against it. Sure enough, printed on glossy 4'3" cardstock was a photo with the words 'Greetings from the historic town of Inaba!' in bold, colorful font across the top left corner. The whole town was shown in the photo, taken from a high vantage point nearby, one of the higher hills on the outskirts most likely. From here, the town looked even smaller.

"The hell…?" Yu shifted forward, squinting and throwing one of his 'pigtails' over his shoulder. "What's this about?"

Naoto placed the envelope and the postcard on the table where they both could see it. "This is a photograph of Inaba. Although it's not Inaba as we know it today."

"What do you mean?"

"Judging by the quality of the photograph and the layout of the town- as you can see, the border hasn't yet extended over this hill here." She pointed to a low grassy hill on the far right side. "This photograph must have been taken sometime in the 1970's."

Yu looked even more confused. Then something caught his eye, and he wasn't sure how he had overlooked it before. Featured somewhat prominently in the foreground, on the hill where the photograph was taken from, was a strange building partially obscured by some trees. It was a white square-ish structure with a brick base, and it appeared to be about three stories high. Covering every inch of the roof were dozens of small satellite dishes of various heights and sizes. Behind the building was a large metal tower at least three times its height, standing on three legs that met at a point at the top.

He pointed at the structure. "This must be…"

"A television broadcast station." Naoto finished his sentence, her eyes lighting up. "Somewhat large for this small town. I didn't realize Inaba even _had _one of its own."

"Is it still around?"

"If so, it must not be operational. I find it hard to believe that a town of this size would have any need for its own station these days." She looked up, and began to scan the landscape around them. Yu joined in, and the two sat for a minute silently looking for any signs of a tower.

Suddenly, Yu pointed at the horizon. "There," he said. "That's the tower. Over on that hill behind the school."

She followed his arm. Behind Yasogami High School was a large green hill covered with trees. About three quarters of the way up was a metal tower rising up from the vegetation surrounding it.

"I remember seeing that from the window in the upstairs hallway, but I never really gave it a second thought," he said.

"Of course…" Naoto stroked her chin thoughtfully. "The high school wasn't built up to what it is now until the mid eighties. That's why we failed to see it in the photo. It must have looked like a completely different building back then."

"So what does this mean? The television station, the Midnight Channel… That connection is too obvious to ignore."

"Yes indeed it is, but-" The detective caught herself mid sentence, and looking somewhat flustered, she picked the postcard up and flipped it over. The back was mostly blank, no address, no stamp. Only some stock printed text and one word written messily in pen: "Table."

She stared intently at the writing for a brief moment, and then out of nowhere, her expression fell. She brought her hand up to her forehead and rested her elbow on the table, her body weight falling over it as she let out a heavy sigh. Yu stared at her, his eyes narrowing with confusion. He wasn't sure what to make of this uncharacteristic reaction.

"What is it? Are you okay?" He asked with genuine concern.

Naoto groaned. "This handwriting, it could only have been written by one person, whom I am very familiar with. Yakushiji-san." She slammed her free hand on the table next to the postcard. "Damn! How disappointing… I had hoped this would become an important lead."

"Hold on a minute," Yu protested. "Who is Yakushiji? And how is this not important?"

"Yakushiji-san," she responded dully, continuing to hold her forehead in her hand, appearing to talk to the tabletop instead of Yu, "Is my grandfather's secretary and friend from the Shirogane estate. I've known him since I was very young. There's no doubt in my mind that this is his handwriting. He's made no attempt to hide it."

"Well how do you know he is not trying to tell you something? What if he's in trouble?"

She looked up at him with an annoyed expression. "If he were in trouble, he would surely call me on my cell phone, the same one I talked to him on just before we left the culture festival. He certainly wouldn't go to ridiculous lengths like sending me a postcard with some obscure references to a TV station and a table. Besides, he's…" She sighed once again, casting her eyes down. "He's acting as my guardian. He accompanied me here to Inaba, so I see him frequently when he's not busy."

"Hmm." Yu stood the katana up between his legs and rested his hands on the butt of the handle. "Then why would he do it? There has to be a reason why he'd leave such a cryptic note in your school locker."

"My guess," Naoto leaned back in her seat and adjusted her cap, which had been moved into an awkward position, "Is that this is my grandfather's doing. He would sometimes orchestrate little crime solving games to keep me occupied as a child. Quite silly, really. He must know that I am no longer officially on a case, and think I'm bored. Honestly, the man is quite selfish. He is retired, and must have nothing better to do."

This surprised Yu. It wasn't like Naoto to write off a case this easily, and she was hardly one to back down from a challenge, at least he thought. She must have put up with this on numerous occasions when she was between cases, and it was all too familiar to her.

"Have you ever tried solving one?"

She chuckled at this. "Not since I was little. I'm usually very busy, and don't have time for these childish games.

"Look Senpai, I'm sorry to have dragged you out here for this. I'm sure you have a lot on your mind and we all have a case to solve. This would just be a pointless distraction, so let's just forget it."

"_Forget it, huh?"_

If he dropped this clue and let it fall to the wayside, what would happen? Yu suspected he would have to find another way to get close to Naoto, but it wouldn't be easy. Playing detective was speaking her language, it was on her wavelength, and it was the quickest way to form a bond. This would have been the perfect opportunity. If he could just find a way to make sure she stuck with this little 'distraction' just long enough to create some new personas…

It wasn't just for him though, he told himself. Naoto needed this… She needed something to take her mind off of work every so often, right? So with that, Yu decided to become _that_ person. The person she _needed_ him to be. But how would he approach it?

"_What, so you're just going to run from a challenge?" _No, too confrontational.

"_Come on, it could be fun!" _Nah, she wouldn't buy it.

"You're right."

She glanced up at him with a surprised look, apparently not expecting him to agree so easily.

"You're right, Naoto, we have a real case with real murders to solve. We don't have time for this kind of crap." He promptly stood from the table, returning his wooden katana to its usual resting place on his shoulder.

Remaining seated, she stared up at him from under the short bill of her hat, looking flustered. Something about the way he had said that- he didn't sound completely serious. "R-right…" she stammered, before regaining her composure. "That's absolutely right." She was about to stand, but she found her gaze returning to the back of the postcard.

Yu continued, "I mean, I can sleep without some kind of closure on a case as silly as this one. It's the big ones that matter to me, the important ones. Right Naoto-kun?"

She stared up at him with her mouth open, and suddenly she began to see what he was getting at. He _knew_ she didn't really want to drop the case. That it would nag at her just like all of the other clues that her grandfather sent her before, clues that she would ignore in favor of bigger cases. _Real_ cases. The fact that Yu seemed to know this irritated her to no end, and she began to feel anxious, as if he had forced himself into a realm beyond what she allowed others to see.

He looked down at the item on the table and said in a low voice, "That card is from Junes, isn't it?"

"It is." She had seen the text at the bottom of the card quite clearly: '_Junes vintage edition postcards'_.

"Then let's take a little detour on the way home. It couldn't hurt, right?" An understanding smile crossed his face.

"I suppose not." She sighed and rose to her feet, taking the postcard off of the table, fitting it back into the envelope and returning it to the inside pocket of her coat. "You win, Narukami-san."

* * *

Junes department store was located at the younger side of town, on the opposite side of the river from the old shopping district. On the walk from the Samegawa Flood Plains, you would pass through a small number of residential neighborhoods, each one more recently developed than the last. Junes was built almost two years ago here, a large chain store from the big city that signaled a change to modernity for the sleepy town. Commercialism had finally found Inaba, much to the dismay of the older residents.

Naoto's apartment was near this area, so it wouldn't be too far of a walk for her afterwards. Yu's home, the Dojima household, was on the opposite side of the river, so his walk back would be considerably longer. He didn't mind too much. Although the sun had almost dropped to the horizon, the weather was nice if a bit chilly. He didn't have any part time jobs to work tonight, either.

Searching for conversation topics with Naoto was sometimes difficult, especially when her mind was on a case. She was a very focused individual, but Yu guessed that because of her intense work ethic she had failed to develop certain social skills.

"So, what's your grandfather like?" Around the second neighborhood, Yu broke through an awkward silence that seemed to hang around too long for comfort. "He must be really intelligent… As a detective of his stature should be, I guess."

"Retired detective," Naoto responded while still looking ahead. "But yes, he is an amazing and kind man, and very, very intelligent. He raised me after my parents passed away, and still managed to solve hundreds of cases. He is legendary."

"I've heard." Yu smiled. "Of course, you're going to break that record some day, aren't you?"

This made her chuckle. "I can only hope. If I work hard enough on each case I take…" She trailed off.

"That's… partially why I've been so adamant about this particular case. The murders. If I can just solve it… well, let's just say it would be very important for me."

"Of course. It's important to all of us, I've told you that."

"Right, I know." She paused, and silence filled the air again, only disturbed by the sound of their shoes touching the sidewalk, Naoto's loafers scuffing the ground and clomping lightly, and Yu's school slippers clicking the pavement with a pitch that, if you closed your eyes, sounded like a rather hefty female. The department store approached up ahead.

"What about you, Senpai? I want to know what's waiting for you back in the city when you return."

Yu looked at her inquisitively. He wasn't expecting to get a question about his life or his family back home. So far he had only talked about the subject with Yosuke, but very briefly.

"Dojima-san has talked about your mother before at the station. He says she is quite a free spirit and full of positivity. She sounds like a wonderful person."

"Hmm… well, she has her moments, but overall she's pretty great," He said, flashing Naoto a grin.

"And what about your father? Dojima-san didn't mention him as much. What is he like? Do you have any siblings? What was it like for you growing up?"

"Wow, slow down!" He laughed, not expecting a barrage of inquiries about his family. "They're not _that _interesting."

"_You shouldn't be talking about this." _A voice, out of nowhere, whispered in his head.

The small detective put her hands in he pockets and looked away, embarrassed. "Apologies. Not having your typical family growing up, I'm always interested in other people's experiences as I'm sure they were… different from mine."

"Ah…" He felt a pang of guilt at how he had responded to her, and decided it was only fair to give her an answer. "My father… Dojima knows my _real_ father. He and my mother got divorced when I was pretty young."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, it was fine, it's nothing compared to what I imagine you had to go through.

"Anyway, my mother remarried not too long after, to a pretty successful business owner. He's the one Dojima doesn't know, and he's pretty much the one who raised me since. And that's all there is, more or less."

"Ah, a business owner? What kind of business does he run?" Naoto seemed genuinely interested in his family, to Yu's growing annoyance.

He ran his fingers through his hair, pushing his bangs to the right and out of his eyes. "I don't know, credit cards or something. It's not really important."

"_You really shouldn't be talking about this. Change the subject." _The voice whispered again, sounding closer and louder than before.

"Credit cards? I see, so I imagine he is very good with money." She continued, oblivious to Yu's subtle hints that he didn't feel like continuing down this path of conversation. "My parent's weren't nearly as rich as grandfather, but they did very well with what they had. I'm interested, Yu-san, as to what your stepfather was like. He must have given you some great advice regarding-"

"Look, can we just stop talking about my family?" Yu snapped, with a little more venom in his voice than he intended. "He's an asshole, okay? Let's just leave it at that."

There was immediate, deafening quiet. Poor Naoto, she had no idea that the subject of his family would touch such a nerve. A shocked expression crossed her face, her grey-blue eyes hovered wide on the boy before she quickly turned away and shoved her left hand in her coat pocket, her right hand furiously pulling on the bill of her hat. Her eyes disappeared behind the collar of her jacket.

"_Woah… woah! Hit the breaks Narukami! Turn this car around! If you're not careful, you'll crash and burn on the pavement. You can _not _fuck this up." He _was the one to bring up this subject in the first place, wasn't he? What an idiot.

Beads of sweat suddenly formed on his brow, and he clapped his hand over his eyes. _"Dammit. Way to blow it, Yu." _He hadn't meant to lash out at her like that. Matters at home were not usually brought up to his friends in Inaba. Naoto was the first one who seemed to dig just deep enough. Looking at the detective walking ahead of him, hands in her pockets and head down, a terrible, sickly feeling grew in his chest.

"Sorry," she said softly and abruptly. "I didn't mean to pry."

"No!" He replied, perhaps a bit too quickly. "I-It's my fault, I shouldn't have gotten so upset. It's your _job_ to pry anyway, isn't it?" He smiled, hoping she would turn around and see that he wasn't angry about it at all. She did, and to his immediate relief, returned it.

The silence came back for the rest of the walk up to Junes. This time, though, it felt quite a bit heavier than before.

* * *

"Here we are," Naoto sighed, happy to finally have something to focus on besides the uneasy air between them.

The Junes food court was mostly empty at this time of day. Not as many people came here for dinner as they did for lunch, especially on a school night. Teddie and Yosuke were nowhere to be found, Yu assumed they both had the day off. The only person the two recognized on the way in was detective Tohru Adachi, Dojima's partner, who was busy not doing his job near the entrance of the store. He recognized Naoto first, and then started snickering in that high-pitched voice of his when he realized the detective's tall, pig tailed friend was actually Dojima's nephew. He made an offhanded joke about finally having blackmail material to hold over his senior partner's head. The three then spoke briefly; Yu even invited him halfheartedly to dinner at the Dojima household, assuming that his uncle would probably forbid it anyway. Afterwards, Naoto made it a point to talk to a few of the cashiers, until one of them mentioned that someone fitting her description might have bought a postcard earlier that day.

Yu looked around. This place was all too familiar to him and the rest of the team. They often met here as a group to discuss new leads in the case, or to just enjoy a steak dinner on Yosuke. Junes was also where Yu first entered the TV world, and the place the team came back to consistently when someone who had been thrown in was in need of rescuing. Naoto, he realized, had never been a part of that. She hadn't yet had the experience of planning a strategy, diving into the TV, taking on countless shadows and convincing the victim to accept the darker aspect of themselves before their own shadow devoured them. A part of him hoped she never would.

The detective reached inside her coat pocket and removed the postcard, studying it carefully to see if there was anything she missed. "I feel like we are failing to put something together here," she said. "The Junes postcard and the word 'table'? Isn't that much too easy?"

Yu felt that she wasn't speaking to _him _necessarily, just running through her thoughts out loud.

"We haven't taken into account the picture itself. The hill? The TV station? Surely that is important. Why else would he choose to write it on a postcard and not a normal piece of paper?"

"Yeah," Yu nodded, "Maybe we're wasting our time here."

"Still," Naoto continued, seeming to ignore him, "There's no harm in trying out the simplest explanation."

"Do you think he might be _intentionally_ making it easy for you?"

This caught her attention. She hadn't entertained that particular line of reasoning before now, possibly because she already knew who the culprit was, thus found herself giving the entire situation minimal effort. But suddenly, she couldn't help but become a little worried.

"That's a possibility," she stated bluntly. "Let's split up and look around."

So they went to separate ends of the courtyard, Yu checking tables on the north side and Naoto checking to the south. Despite annoying several of the last customers who were just trying to enjoy a meal in peace, the two turned up with largely nothing, at least initially. Yu found a jack frost doll stuck in a bush near one of the tables, a toy car and a pack of cigarettes under another. Naoto checked for any writing, pieces of paper, or anything unusual about the tables themselves. Nothing seemed at all relevant.

It was dark out when they finally met in the middle of the courtyard. The artificial lights had been switched on, drowning out any view of the night sky and bathing the area in yellow incandescence.

"Anything on your side?" Yu asked.

"No, nothing interesting at least. Copious amounts of garbage, half eaten steak meals and plenty of chewed bubblegum." She crossed her arms and gave a frustrated sigh. "This is hardly the longest I've combed through a room looking for evidence, but for a nonsense case like this? It feels like hours. Have you found anything?"

He scratched his chin and shrugged, looking off to the side. "_He's as aloof as ever_," she thought. "_Before today, I thought there was nothing that could phase him…"_

"I found some things. They're all laid out on the table over there." He pointed to the round white table near the edge of the food court. She recognized it as the team's usual meeting spot. So nonchalant the boy was! He obviously had collected quite a wealth of trinkets in his search. Naoto felt like luck hadn't been on her side tonight.

They walked over to the table, and she knew almost immediately which item was the one meant for her to find. There were a number of things: the Jack Frost doll, toy car, a wallet some unfortunate customer had left behind; even the opened pack of cigarettes were laid out as a possibility. But the object on the far left was the one that caught her eye: A black, cheap looking digital watch.

Naoto's eyes widened. It was made mostly of rubber and plastic, and was scuffed and worn from years of use. The face contained only the time and the date, which appeared to be set properly. She bent over to examine it. Yes, it was in complete working order it seemed. On the rubber strap she noticed one of the holes was stretched and even a little chipped, as if someone had taken it off in a hurry, almost ripping it.

"The watch?" Yu was standing next to her, studying her reaction.

"Yes…" she said slowly, "This certainly brings back memories." Reaching out, she took the object in her hand and lifted it off of the table's surface. She had a distant look in her eye; a look that seemed nostalgic yet… troubled.

Yu sensed that there was a definite history behind this watch, one that might be connected to her shadow's insecurities. He would have to jump at this opportunity.

"What memories?" He asked.

She answered with a small, faraway voice. "I made this when I was young, just starting my career as a detective."

"You _made _it? That's pretty impressive."

She gave him a light laugh, "I used to make all kinds of gadgets like this. Silly things really, just toys. Most of them would serve some kind of purpose for a detective. Like this, for example…"

Lifting the watch and turning it to the side, she aimed it away from Yu and pushed one of the buttons that ran along the side. A bright, focused beam of white light lit up a bush nearby.

"Oh neat!" he exclaimed with surprising enthusiasm.

"It's a high-energy UV light," she explained grinning smugly, "One of its uses would be to blind a potential attacker. However, it has more important functions, like searching for forensic evidence. Bodily fluids, trace fibers, things like that." Removing her finger from the button, the light shut off and she returned her gaze to the object itself.

"Huh, that's pretty cool. So why would Yakushiji have this?"

Her expression sank. "I gave it to him. After my first bad experience with the police force."

There it was. This was what Yu had been waiting for, insight into a memory that made her who she was today. He would have to approach this topic with tact…

"I see… what prompted you to give it to him, if you don't mind me asking?"

"It's fine." She gave out a sigh and gripped the watch tighter. "As I mentioned, I was very young, I hadn't yet started concealing my gender at this point. I started on a particular case that was stagnating on a recommendation by my grandfather, whom the chief respected greatly."

Yu had an idea of where this was going. The reason she started concealing her true gender was obviously based on some kind of trauma at work. He began to open his mouth instinctively, to tell her she didn't have to go on telling him this, but the voice in his head stopped him cold. "_Let her tell it."_

She continued, oblivious to him. "The case itself isn't important. It was an abduction case, one that I found fairly easy to solve. The other detectives felt understandably slighted by my presence, even at the chief's insistence that I was there to be a part of the team, not to lead it. They became bitter. It started off with just the usual 'What do you know, kid', and 'I've been in this line of work before you were even born'. Then, when I started making advancements in the case, it got worse. They got angry. Whenever I would try to speak they would cut me off with things like 'We weren't talking to you, bitch!' and when I would protest they would brush me off and tell me I was just having my period, and to go run home to grandpa, or back to my dead mommy and daddy!"

Her teeth clenched and her hand looked like it was about to crush the watch, while her gaze grew more intense, never once moving from the object she held. He had never seen her look angrier, and yet more vulnerable…

"Christ…" he breathed. He knew she had faced harassment and discrimination at some point, but that's all. He had no idea how bad it actually got. That whispering voice in his head had fallen silent. "What about the chief? Couldn't you report their behavior?"

"I tried," she said through her teeth, "But it always fell on deaf ears. He valued his team more than some freelance detective. It was his house. He told me to suck it up, that this was the world of crime solving and it wasn't all fun and games like in the novels. So condescending…"

"What a bastard!" These were adults! Grown men acting like high school bullies, and the management didn't even care!?

"They played pranks on me. They played pranks on each other, too, but they seemed to single me out for the particularly inappropriate ones, as if to make a statement. We all had lockers there; Once they filled mine with a bunch of barbie dolls. Numerous times they posted pictures with my face imposed on them. From the newspaper, or just drawn crudely, pictures of Sherlock Holmes, or some other storybook detective. Pictures from pornographic magazines, where I was always the woman, and the man was…" She trailed off, her voice shaking uncontrollably. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes.

Yu watched her, and a heavy, sinking feeling overcame him. The voice was gone, replaced by a mixture of anger, guilt, fear, and admiration. Naoto was strong; she had faced this kind of behavior time and time again, yet continued to pursue her dream of being a detective regardless. One does not push this hard out of necessity, or a feeling of obligation. She wanted this more than anything else, and at the age of sixteen she had twenty-three closed cases under her belt to prove it. Yes, the experiences had robbed her of her innocence, and work had taken over her life, but still…

He suddenly felt very small next to this girl, dwarfed by her courage and resolve. This wasn't something he was prepared for, and just now the thought entered his mind that not only was this 'strengthening bonds' thing impossible, it was petty and irrelevant. But the voice persisted, albeit weaker now, urging him to carry on.

Naoto calmed herself and dropped her hand to her side, letting her gaze lead up into the night sky. "Yakushiji-san, he… he was there for me. The whole time. He was the one urging me not to give up. Grandpa too, but Yakushiji was acting as my guardian, putting up with my tantrums when I came home, and comforting me. I was about to quit many times, but he believed in me and told me to fight through it, that it would get better. And he was right, I never did have an experience quite as traumatizing as that case, though it still got close at times. I started to conceal my true gender after that. Once the case was solved, I gave him this watch I was working on as a token of my gratitude. I… had no real use for it anyway. He kept wearing it ever since."

Another silence floated between them, and the sound of the buzzing lights rose up to fill the void. For the first time in quite a while, Yu didn't know what to say or do. The detective pulled down on the bill of her hat and sniffed, blinking out the traces of tears from of her eyes. She regained her posture and turned to Yu with a slight, awkward grin, chuckling through her nose.

"Sorry. I suppose that's more than you wanted to hear, isn't it?"

He was about to respond, but she continued quickly before he could. "Let's get on with the clues, okay Yu-san? I think I have an idea of what to do with this watch."

He simply nodded, unsure of how to respond.

"Firstly, where did you find it?"

"On the underside of this table." Yu tapped the surface of their familiar gathering. "There's a little ledge where the legs all meet in the center. It was sitting on top of that."

Naoto immediately dropped down to her hands and knees to observe the scene. Yu hesitated briefly before shaking himself out of his stupor and following her lead, taking a knee beside her to peer under the tabletop. She moved quickly, her eyes sharp as she peered around every nook and cranny, even scooting the table slightly to check under the feet.

"What should we be looking for?" Yu asked.

"I'm not positive," Naoto responded without deviating from her search, "But we may be looking for some kind of hidden message, written in a substance invisible to our naked eyes. Make sure you don't touch _anything."_ She lifted the watch, and pushed in the button for the UV light. The legs of the table were suddenly brightly illuminated, and with the light of the watch under the shade from the lamps overhead, Yu could see that the table was… filthy! Dirt, hairs, stains from substances that had probably been accumulating for months, all highlighted in a bright blue glow.

"Man," he said, "They really have to clean this place."

"You would be surprised at what you can find if you point this light at just about anything," she mused.

Yu began to think carefully about the last time he washed his hands, or cleaned his bedroom. Naoto slowly scanned upwards with the light, from the base of the legs to the underside of the table. Here, in between pieces of chewed gum stuck to the surface was even more dirt and stains than before. Smears of fat from customers' greasy fingers, stains from drops of spilled soda, marks made by the water condensation of the morning's dew. Then, she saw it.

It made her take a sharp breath as her lips came together, her eyes shot open wide. Yu followed her gaze, and his head nearly knocked against the table as he jumped in surprise. There was a message here all right. The words were wiped out of the grungy underside of the table, dark spots against the UV light's blue reflections. The letters were messy and oddly spaced, but the message was still clear:

"I'M WATCHING YOU."

Naoto kept the light focused on the message. Her mouth had gone dry. Instinctively, the two of them had found themselves briefly glancing around to see if there was someone hidden behind them. Of course, they saw no one. As soon as he calmed his nerves, Yu spoke.

"I'm watching you… is this a clue? Or is it a warning?"

"Well, considering the obvious pun, it could be some sort of clue." Naoto frowned. Had Yakushiji-san really written this?

"The writing seems off. Odd spacing, letters at different angles. It seems as though he was writing it without looking, possibly while sitting in one of the chairs."

She pushed herself off of her knees and stood up, and the underside of the table became dark again. Yu followed her, confused at the sudden break in her focus. Reaching into her coat pocket, she put away the watch and removed her cell phone, flipping it open with a quick snap and punching in numbers with her thumb.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm calling Yakushiji-san, and confronting him about this silly game he's involved me in. It's becoming tedious and frankly I don't have time for it." Holding the phone up to her ear, she crossed her other arm under her elbow and looked off to the side impatiently.

Yu could hear the faint ringing from the speaker against her ear. This time, there was nothing he could do to get her to continue the case. He didn't disagree with her, either. The message under the table was a bit sinister for a simple detective game, and thinking about it again gave him a slight chill. Watching them? Who would be watching them, and why?

The ringtone sounded again. Then it sounded a third time. Then, silence. Naoto brought the phone down from her ear and stared at it. "Hmm… No answer, and no voicemail…" She pocketed the cellphone. "It appears I'll have to try again sometime soon. He must be busy."

Her tone was dry, and she sounded sure of herself, but Yu noticed a hint of worry cross her face as she turned towards him. "Well Yu-san, I'm afraid I must bid you goodnight, I have things I need to attend to back home." She smiled. "We can meet up again after I talk to Yakushiji-san and sort this whole thing out."

He nodded, "Sure, sounds good."

Looking away nervously, her hand came up to pull down on her hat. "But before I go, I want to… thank you, for pushing me to go even this far with such a case. Without you, I would never have come here and found this watch and…" She sighed. "Thank you, for listening and understanding. I was a bit beside myself back there, and to be honest, I haven't told many people about my early experiences and I hope you don't see me any differently than before and, ah…" She stopped herself as she was beginning to ramble. "I'm not sure what I'm trying to convey, but thanks… I guess."

Not once could she meet Yu's gaze, and her hand never left the bill of her cap. Yu wore a concerned expression, his eyes regarding the detective with a different understanding. Then, he felt the familiar sensation hit him. A new room opened in the labyrinth of his mind, something had been added to him, unlocked, something that might have been there all along but was just now being discovered. That whispering voice, that meddling, rational part of his mind returned. _"Congratulations. You've succeeded."_

"My stepdad…" He suddenly blurted out. Wait, was it him? It sounded like his voice, but couldn't be sure… "My stepdad married my mom when I was eight year old."

_"What… What are you doing?"_

Naoto's head snapped up, utterly surprised that he would return to this topic after what happened before.

"I didn't like him at first, but I warmed up to him. I warmed up to him a lot, and soon I came to like him better than my real dad, who was never really there a lot in the first place, from what I can remember."

"_Stop talking, dammit! You've gotten this far, don't ruin it!" _The voice changed from a whisper to a loud yell, but his words kept falling out, as if he had no control over his own body.

"He became a mentor of sorts to me. I looked up to him, so did my mom. But then…"

_"For the love of God… SHUT. UP."_

"But then he…" His senses seemed to come back to him now, as the voice elevated itself to a deafening scream. "He did something that hurt my mom and I. Badly." He finished quickly, and with that, he regained control of himself, glancing away from the detectives prying eyes.

_"Such an idiot…"_

Naoto looked slightly bewildered, not entirely knowing how to react. "I… see. Why are you telling me this all of a sudden?"

"It's only fair, I guess. I'm sorry, but that's all I can get out."

"That's alright. It must be difficult to talk about, I understand." She gave him a slight yet genuine smile. And there was no doubt in Yu's mind that she truly did. With that, and after a moment of awkward deliberation, she buttoned up her coat and started to turn towards the exit. "Well Yu-san, it's getting late. I should be on my way now."

"I agree," he said, then added, "And I'm walking you home."

This made her stop dead in her tracks. "What? Senpai, there really is no need."

His expression became stern, and he crossed his arms. He would have looked quite intimidating if it weren't for the fact that he was still wearing a dress and had his hair done up in cute pigtails. "Come on, Naoto. You know I can't let you walk home alone in the dark after getting a message like that. I don't care if it was from Yakushiji-san or not."

"I'm perfectly capable of protecting myself, thank you!" Eyes narrowing, the detective looked more indignant than ever.

Yu simply stood with his arms crossed and stared back at her silently, looking like an odd statue of a girly samurai warrior. The two stood there for a minute, just staring each other down.

"Ugh, very well." Naoto finally conceded. "It's only a short walk, but if it puts you at ease…"

"Great!" Yu's expression changed abruptly from stone faced to cheery, almost childlike. He shouldered his katana and walked up next to the detective, who rolled her eyes and headed for the door.

_"That was close," _the voice whispered, and Yu knew it wasn't a strange, unfamiliar entity speaking to him, but simply a rational aspect of his own mind. _"She managed to almost make you slip up, to bring you much too close to destruction. It can't happen again. Focus on what matters." _What matters… Again, it seemed he had to keep telling himself this, beating the notion down into his head until it stuck firmly in place. "_I _know, _dammit."_

* * *

**Hey all! A few things:**

**-Thank you for making it all the way here! The section involving Naoto's Social Link was only supposed to be PART of a chapter not ALL of one, so obviously there was a lot of Naoto here, and there will be next chapter as well, albeit for different reasons. So, if you don't like Naoto, I don't know... Like better characters?**

**-WhateverNever and Originaljuan92, you guys are both on the right track, glad that came across ok!**

**-The next chapter will be up very soon, I already have it written I just wanted to give this one a bit of breathing room first. So keep an eye out for that one in the next few days.**

**-I realize it's a commitment already to read some of these stories, I hardly have time to read many stories myself, but if you could, please leave a review on your way out. It can be really quick, something like "It's awesome!" or "It sucks," or preferably "It's cool, but here's how it could be better..." Anything like that would be great and I would really appreciate it.**

**Thanks for reading! **


	4. Truth Seekers

"_It's too late for coffee_," Naoto thought to herself as she poured her second cup. There was a lot of work ahead of her tonight, though, and it was doubtful she'd be getting to sleep any time soon. She knew it was pointless to a certain extent, it had been enough time after all for her body to adapt to the effects of regular caffeine intake; so at this point it was mainly just staving off withdraw. Still, if it wasn't a physical stimulant it was a much-needed mental one.

The mug came down on her desk with a clunk, and she relaxed into her chair before scooting it in a bit closer to rest her forearms on the desktop. Her room was dark, with only the bright screen of her laptop illuminating the bare walls with an unnatural hue. Multiple half emptied boxes were stacked up in the corner, casting angular shadows across the floor. There was a small dresser in the corner with a week's worth of clothing folded neatly inside, and a large stack of books sitting on top. Next to that was a twin size bed with plain white sheets, made somewhat hurriedly, below the lone window that peered out onto the road two stories below, dark and peppered with dim streetlights. Other than these few items and her aluminum desk which sat above numerous file cabinets, her bedroom was decidedly empty. Since she had moved to Inaba specifically to work on the case alongside the police department, she had no intention of getting comfortable. This was a temporary residence, meant for sleeping and doing late night research only. Even though she was no longer '_officially'_ on the case, she was treating the situation no differently.

She took an idle sip from her mug, and glanced over at the door. Next to it, leaning against the corner was a new item, perhaps her first real decoration of sorts. It was Yu's wooden katana. He had given it to her after walking her home, or rather he had made her take it, telling her to use it for defense in case anyone suspicious showed up. Naoto had coolly reminded him that she carried a gun, but he insisted, presenting it to her as if it were a family keepsake passed down through the generations, and warning her stupidly that she could always run out of bullets. She then sighed in defeat. Her senpai could be enormously stubborn at times. Although she was sure it would be useless, there was something about it that brightened up the room a bit, nonetheless.

When arrived inside her apartment, she had tried to contact Yakushiji-san again, but there was still no response. It was curious and a bit worrying considering the words that still remained impressed into her mind: 'I'M WATCHING YOU'. Most unsettling, but she decided to let it go until after she got some rest. It wasn't like he hadn't been busy or forgotten to charge his cellphone before. She would try to contact him again in the morning.

The report she had been working on was nearly finished, but she supposed it didn't necessarily have to contain every detail tonight for it to be useful. She brushed her fingers across her head and let her bangs fall between her eyes. With the cabbie hat absent from her head, sitting next to her on top of a small stack of manila folders, her dark, short-cropped hair was getting a little unruly. Her jacket had been thrown onto the bed, leaving only her white button-up top, partially unbuttoned for comfort, and black Yasogami High dress pants. "_Perhaps I should make myself look a little more presentable?" _She thought, before dismissing the idea, not quite out of laziness but more out of sheer fatigue. The meeting would begin soon, but anybody organizing a discussion for this late at night would have to expect the other participant to look less than her best. Her eyes fell on the time display at the top of her laptop screen. 11:29 pm. "_Any minute now…"_

As if on cue, a small window popped up on the screen in front of her accompanied by a soft bell sound. "Would you like to accept the incoming video call?" It said. She clicked 'yes'.

A larger window opened, and the profile of a man illuminated by the light of his own laptop could be seen inside it. A smile of recognition crossed her face; it had been some time since she had last seen him. He was an older man, probably working his way into his sixties, with tanned skin and brown eyes that were hidden behind glasses and eyelids half closed by a smile, bordered by a number of deep wrinkles. His hair was short and dark, with gray spots peppering the top of his head and overtaking his sideburns. His brows were thick, and currently turned up in a surprised and welcoming expression.

"Good evening Naoto-san! I'm sorry to have to be contacting you so late like this. I hope you're still awake!" The man had a powerful voice, not deep, just very clear and purposeful.

"Yes of course, it's quite alright Ito-san, this is the time that was best for me as well. I needed a little while to compile my reports."

"Good to hear! Glad it worked out for the both of us then." The man adjusted his glasses and squinted at his screen. "I have to say Naoto-san, now that we're face to face; it's amazing how much you've grown since I last saw you. I can't even remember how long ago it was…"

"Six years, Ito-san, I remember. It's when my grandfather was still not yet retired." She smiled, reminiscing.

The man let out a hearty laugh. "Of course! It was right after I joined the NPA! How could I forget? You were the cutest little gumshoe, weren't you? Always showing off your little homemade gadgets. Your grandfather couldn't resist calling me a sellout or a government lapdog at the time, could he?"

"He did like to tease you about that." She chuckled; her grandfather was always an independent worker, as was the entire Shirogane family of detectives. He would have never resorted to taking a government job; he much preferred the freedom of having his own business. Of course, with their family's reputation he would never have had to.

"Well, the old man is a legend, so he has every right to I suppose." A twinkle remained in his eye even as his laughter subsided.

Suddenly, he glanced down at his screen. "Ah, excuse me Naoto-san, but the catching up will have to wait until later. Our third party is calling in."

"Third party?"

"Yes, the three of us will be working closely on this case. Did I not mention him before?"

She shook her head.

"Don't worry, he doesn't know your true gender and I won't bring it up in his presence. Your secret is safe with me, little one." He gave her a wink.

Naoto fidgeted. Was she prepared? She didn't exactly take the time to properly disguise herself before receiving the call, not to mention she was not entirely presentable at the moment. Her jacket and cap had been removed, leaving only her white button-up short sleeve. Her hair was a bit messier than usual, and there were light rings under her eyes from staring at the computer screen for hours. The collar she usually wore to hide the lack of an adam's apple was absent, the feminine shape of her neck and downturned collarbone were exposed. She hadn't undone the binding from her chest yet though, so maybe those other details would be overlooked. She re-buttoned her shirt up to her collarbone just to be safe.

"Are you ready, Naoto-san?"

"Yes," she replied quickly.

Another window popped up, asking her to accept another call, which she promptly did. The new window contained the profile of a much younger man, probably barely in his twenties, with a long face and messy, wavy brown hair. He appeared to be very tall; she gathered by the way he seemed to be looking down at his computer instead of straight at it. He wore an expression of either boredom or fatigue; it was hard to tell which.

Ito spoke first. "Shirogane, this is Yoshio Abe, Abe-san, meet Naoto Shirogane."

"Pleasure to meet you, Abe-san," Naoto said, nodding politely. She was initially a little surprised hearing Ito suddenly refer to her by her last name, but she understood the reason.

"Ah. Hey," he responded dully, his rough, nasally voice carrying a slight tone of disinterest. "Pleased to meet you."

Naoto wasn't one to judge a person's character based on first impressions, but if she were, she would be inclined to describe this boy as entitled, perhaps quite narcissistic. The way his eyes peered down at her over his bottom lids seemed to say, "_Go ahead. Make yourself worthy of my time."_ She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, however, and responded with a polite nod.

"Abe, I'm sure you've heard of Shirogane before, he's an ace detective currently working on our case from Inaba. He's quite brilliant for his young age," Ito explained, giving a subtle wink to Naoto as he did.

"Shirogane, Yoshio Abe is a genius engineer, _also_ quite brilliant for his age, who was formerly employed by the Kirijo Group. I'm sure you've heard of them."

"Yes, I have." Naoto was of course familiar with the powerful organization. They commanded a large economic and political presence, especially on Tatsumi Port Island, where their main research headquarters were located. It was hard to find any other enterprise, corporate or otherwise, that hadn't had dealings with the group in some way.

Ito continued, "Before he left, Abe was doing research and development on a number of anti-shadow weapons, and he brings that expertise to us today."

"I see…" Naoto said, now her interest was piqued, "Can you tell me why you decided to leave, Abe-san?"

Abe shifted slightly, and brought his hand up to stroke his chin. "Ah, well…" His manner of speech seemed drawn out, and unnecessarily slow. "The head engineer and I, we didn't see things the same way. He insisted on creating these… Persona-using androids, which I thought were ah, inefficient, and a huge waste of resources, to put it lightly. Their ability to take out shadows was highly variable, and their actions were unpredictable. Just useless junk, in my opinion." He sighed and brought his hand down on the table, letting it fall as if it were too much effort just to hold it up. It made a 'bang!' sound and caused his screen to shake briefly. He cleared his throat loudly. "Androids were like this guy's religion though, he was totally stuck on his way of doing things. So I basically went over his head, and uh, created something much simpler and more effective. He didn't like that one bit. He just couldn't see how much this would revolutionize everything, you know? Such an old-timer. So stuck in the past. We butted heads over this for a little while until he decided to pull rank, and got me fired. And maaayybe I sabotaged one of his android components in the meantime, which he got real mad about. But you know, mostly creative differences, probably."

Naoto was almost offended by the man's complete lack of self-awareness, but she hid that fact, focusing more on what he had to say. Persona-wielding androids? She had no idea there could be such a thing. Ito watched her reaction, and after Abe had finished speaking gave out a small chuckle.

"Yes, Abe is quite the troublemaker, but his weapons are effective and will give us an edge in this investigation."

"Pssh. 'Effective'…" Abe snorted out a bemused laugh. "That's an understatement."

Ito seemed to ignore him, and directed his attention towards Naoto. "Shirogane. I gave you an assignment when we talked on the phone, didn't I? To bring me a personal and physical report of all the people currently able to harness the power of the shadows, correct?"

"That is correct. I have it with me right now."

"Perfect! Then before you send me a copy of the files via email, please give a brief summary of the details for us now."

She expected he would ask for this, and she was fully prepared with her response. "Of course, Ito-san. However, before I divulge specific information about my high-school classmates to a stranger and a man I haven't seen in years, please allow me this quick diversion."

"Oh?" he asked, looking a bit perplexed at her comment. "And what would this 'diversion' be?"

She gave him a wry smile. "Well you see, this meeting time was more beneficial than you realize. I finished _your_ report _last_ night. Tonight before the call, I was compiling a different set of information. Information on _you_ Ito-san."

His eyes lit up and he looked surprised, but also a little impressed. His surprise changed abruptly into a devious smile, however, and he nodded to her. "Go on then, detective Shirogane, do your worst!"

She cleared her throat, clicked over to the text document that was open in front of her, and began.

"Detective Takeshi Ito, born in August of 1951. Started career as a police officer for the Sumaru police department, before being promoted to detective and promptly moving to Iwtodai, where you became very highly regarded among your peers. This is where you met my grandfather, who was hired for a specific case and soon became your mentor. You quit the force after a case you were particularly invested in was discarded, and decided to work as an independent detective like my grandfather. You had mild success, closing a number of important and not so important cases in your time. But, it eventually came to an end, and work dried up. This became a point of contention between you and my grandfather, did it not? You became a direct competitor to him and found yourself struggling to get cases. Soon you were forced to take a government job in a menial position for the NPA. After a number of years you again worked your way up to head detective, which is a position you stayed in until quite recently." She paused while she clicked open another document. "Now, please feel free to correct any of the following information if it is necessary to do so. This was not easy to obtain."

The man frowned contemplatively, and gave a slight nod. She had his full attention now.

Naoto cleared her throat once more, and continued. "Recently, a top-secret branch of the NPA was formed, one that involved itself in cases that bordered on the paranormal. This was in response to a corporate investigation of the Kirijo Group after a certain mysterious event that took place on Tatsumi Port Island not long ago. This investigation turned up certain paranormal findings when files from the Group's database were analyzed. Now, to me it seems odd that there would be a special branch of the NPA investigating the Kirijo Group, since they do hold significant power in the government, but I digress. This branch is broken into subsections, one of them led by none other than yourself, Ito-san. This subsection is devoted solely to investigating cases involving the entities called 'shadows'. Does this all sound accurate to you, Ito-san?"

Ito was beaming. "Very impressive, Naoto-san!" The lines around his eyes multiplied as his smile grew wider. "This is how I know you are the right man for the job!"

Abe looked somewhat amused, a flat grin crossed his face and he nodded, approvingly if somewhat condescendingly.

"This branch of the NPA," Naoto went on, "contains only a few, heavily vetted employees, although I'm not sure of the exact criteria used. It seems, though, that you weren't able to make much progress beyond the Kirijo documents. Most of your investigations have been hindered by hoaxes and frauds, or the meddlings of the Group. Your branch is in danger of being dissolved, isn't it?"

"Not if this case goes smoothly." Ito's amusement faded a bit as he addressed the detective. "As I've said before, we were alerted to activity in this town due to the nature of the murders and the state of the victims' bodies. They were undoubtedly linked to shadow activity. We also need to solve this before the Kirijo Group gets their claws into the investigation, or we might be left with nothing but a giant cover-up. I can already sense them getting their expensive leather's all scuffed up over the details coming out of Inaba, so it's only a matter of time. Fortunately they have a lot more paperwork to go through than we do." With his large index finger, he pushed his eyeglasses back up the wide bridge of his nose. "Furthermore, since your friends are linked to this incident and are able to control 'personas', we need to determine how the shadows might be affecting them as well. Any information is good information, as you surely know."

Naoto sighed, and opened yet another text document. "Very well," she said, and proceeded to list off information on the other persona users. She mentioned Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, and Rise Kujikawa as the three kidnapping victims after the late Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. The dates of their disappearance and consequent rescue were given, as well as information on their parents' careers, and finally their medical reports. Yosuke Hanamura and Chie Satonaka were brought up in a similar fashion but with the added note of their having not been kidnapped. Teddie's exam results in particular earned a raised eyebrow from Ito.

Then she came to Yu Narukami. "Sixteen. A transfer student from an unknown city, possibly Iwatodai. Currently lives with his Uncle, detective Ryotaro Dojima of the Inaba Police Force. His father seems to have left at a young age, and his mother remarried to a successful businessman whose name I do not have. He was not kidnapped, nor was there a specific event that triggered his ability to use a persona. As far as I know there was never an encounter with a shadow counterpart. Also, he appears to be able to control multiple personae, instead of just one."

"And his medical report?" Ito asked.

"Unfortunately, I do not have it." She responded, feeling somewhat guilty despite herself.

"Well then…" Ito leaned forward, bringing his face closer to the camera and smiling broadly. "It seems you have a bit more work to do, Shirogane."

Naoto's face flushed red, and she frowned. She was frustrated, and disappointed in herself. How could she have so little on Yu and so much on everyone else? "It seems that way," she mumbled.

"Out of all the information you've given me tonight, this boy's has caught my interest the most. In order to get to the bottom of this shadow situation, we need to learn how to get closer to them, and this boy may just be the key. I need more background, and I _need_ to see his medical reports. X-rays too, please. Am I clear, Shirogane?"

"Yes sir," she said and leaned back in her chair. "Understood."

"Good." Ito leaned back as well. "I know you're passionate about this case. And I know _you _know that just apprehending the murderer will not give us all the answers we seek. That's why I have complete faith that you will help us get to the bottom of this."

"Don't worry. Next time we meet I'll have the information you need."

"That's my boy! Alright Shirogane, Abe, this meeting is adjourned. We'll convene again in three days time. Until then, you're both on call." Ito adjusted his glasses and leaned over his keyboard. His finger met a button below him, and his picture went blank.

"Until next time," Abe said and smirked, before his screen went blank as well.

Naoto sat in silence for a moment, staring at the empty windows on her computer screen. She reached over and took a sip of her coffee. It was cold. Leaning over her desk, she propped her elbows on the surface and buried her hands in her hair, before dragging them down over her face. It was 12:30 in the morning, and she still wasn't quite ready for sleep. Thinking about her failure to gather all the required information for her case would keep her up, anyway.

She opened up a browser window. At least she could get a head start for next time then, while she was still up. So, for the next hour or so she committed herself to gathering as much history as possible on Yu Narukami; checking into his family name, their line of business, places they lived. It turned out to be a tougher job than she anticipated. Almost no information was available about the Narukamis, other than the fact that one of them was recorded as being a soldier in World War II. Here she could extrapolate, however, and digging into this soldier's biography she found that this Narukami had a grandson named Hiru, who had married a small-time photographer named Emi. Emi… Dojima!

So this was most likely his mother, the sister that Ryotaro had mentioned fondly on numerous occasions at the police station. Now she was getting somewhere. According to Yu, his mother had divorced Hiru Narukami and had kept her son, and then before he was a teenager she remarried…

She paused. There was something here that didn't sit well with her. There was something about his family that Yu didn't want to talk about, even though at one point he seemed to be trying his hardest despite himself… She felt guilty all of a sudden. Not that she hadn't before; Digging up information on all of her friends, the ones who had bravely rushed in to rescue her from certain death at the hands of her own shadow, didn't exactly make her feel noble. But she told herself over and over that this wasn't just about _her_, it was about finding the cause of the presence of shadows and the midnight channel. It was bigger than her, bigger than her friends. And, as she mustered up her resolve once again, bigger than her relationship with Yu Narukami. They could put an end to the murderer, but that wouldn't put an end to the shadows and the potential for further harm, that much was clear.

Emi Dojima, Emi Narukami. Could she have taken on another surname when she remarried? Naoto thought for a second. If Yu's mother was a professional photographer, surely she would have some kind of portfolio up online? Typing Emi Narukami into a search engine came up with nothing useful. Emi Dojima came up with a credit on a magazine article written years ago, probably before she was even married for the first time. She followed the link, and then followed another under the photographer credit, which took her to the page she was looking for.

Naoto absently took another sip out of her mug, wincing as the cold, distasteful liquid hit the back of her throat. Emi's website was a bit outdated, her last update was almost four years ago. It appeared to be a beautiful photograph of an old woman in a black gown, obviously attending a funeral. She had a longing, far away smile on her face, and deep wrinkles around her eyes that were made more apparent by the clearness of the picture. Naoto became lost in it for a moment; Yu's mother was quite talented. Then, her eyes moved to the top of the page. The website name and subsequently the header on the page had been changed since the article. Emi Dojima was now Emi Matsumoto.

Matsumoto… the name rang a bell. She said it out loud to herself, as if hearing it would help her remember. Where had she heard that name before? Of course, searching for just the surname brought up a number of unrelated results, from politicians to chefs to teachers to… '_I don't know, credit cards or something…'_

Naoto froze. Thoughts crossed her mind, images of news reports, scandal, controversy. Somehow these faded memories crept up; they were there but hadn't been fully registered in her consciousness. What was she getting in to? Was this something she really needed to pursue? She opened up the search engine once again and filtered for videos, sorting by date. The first page and a half had nothing of relevance, but there on the second page, a fragmented image from her memory became a vivid reality on her screen. It was a recorded news report from around one year ago. The detective hovered the cursor over the image and hesitated for a long moment, feeling her resolve waver once more. She clicked it open.

Scandal, controversy… The voice of the late reporter Mayumi Yamano narrated the scene, hordes of cameras and microphones surrounded by angry pedestrians holding signs. At the middle of the chaos was a middle-aged man in a black suit, a tall, weathered looking businessman with dark hair parted neatly along the side of his scalp. His hands were behind his back and he was being led on either side by two policemen, who were fighting through the crowd to get to the car at the end of the walkway. Allegations of fraud. Embezzlement. It all came back to her now. Just over a year ago this man, Matsumoto, leader of a smaller corporate credit union was arrested for purposely mismanaging the funds of its debtors. The outrage was palpable at the time, and although Naoto was not yet experienced in financial matters, she could understand the people's anger. They had been swindled, robbed of income, and judging by their ferocious cries and less than intelligible interviews, they were out for his blood.

She finished watching the video, and found that her hand had risen up to cover her mouth, which hung open in shock. She sat there staring at the video long after the screen had turned black. Was this really Yu's stepfather? The one he was so hesitant to bring up? The connections were there: One year ago she had witnessed this report, and almost one year ago Yu Narukami had arrived in Inaba. He had said that his parents worked a lot, and that he had come here because they had to leave on a business trip. But that wasn't true at all, was it? The real reason he had come to Inaba was that his father had just been taken to prison, and his mother had sent him to live with her brother to safeguard him from the resulting media chaos! This is why he had gotten angry with her for prying, why he always _hated_ talking about leaving Inaba in the coming months. It was because when he left, she thought to herself with a heavy sadness, he would be returning to a broken home.

Naoto was instantly overcome with guilt, and she slammed her laptop closed, as if doing so would erase what she had seen from her mind. She felt sick. This was what he had been trying to hide from her, what he'd almost told her but had stopped himself before he could. She tried to focus her mind on the case at hand, and that calmed her somewhat. "Remember," she said to herself, "This is bigger than Yu, bigger than all of us. I have to do what needs to be done." Then, swallowing the lump that had risen in her throat, she thought, "_Besides, he doesn't have to know that I know. That _they'll_ know_."

Where the laptop screen had been, she refocused and could see the wooden katana propped up against the wall several feet away. "_I still have to obtain his medical results…" _she thought with a weary hesitation.

Naoto started to ponder a way to find them. "_Were they still at the hospital? Had he lied when he said he didn't have them?" _But soon the exhaustion from working late finally overcame her, and she felt her eyelids getting heavy. Rising from her chair, she didn't even bother washing up or removing her clothes before falling onto her bed with a tired sigh. Lying on her belly with her head turned to the side on her pillow, she gazed out the window at a clear moonless night, and slowly drifted out of consciousness.


	5. High School Love Connection

**November 3****rd****, Lunchtime**

An elated sigh escaped Kou's lips, his bowl slid and clattered against the wooden floor of the gymnasium. "Done!" he said, turning to Yosuke with a broad smile.

"Man that was a sight to behold, " Yosuke remarked. It had taken all of three minutes for the gangly teen to inhale his entire lunch: a large helping of beef stew and a couple pieces of bread. "Can I finish the story now?"

Kou let out a massive belch, loud enough to echo over the din of chattering students. Some of the other kids in the room stopped mid conversation and turned to stare, breaking into giggles or shouts of "Niiiice!"

The boy smiled and pretended not to notice. "Yeah, thanks, go ahead." He rubbed his belly. "You were describing Chie-chan's curry?"

"Right, so we were tired from helping clean up trash all day near the campsite. I was _so_ looking forward to a nice home cooked meal, and I assumed they knew what they were doing. They sounded so confident about it, anyway."

"So they made curry? I feel like it's kind of hard to mess that one up."

"You'd think so. But they did. Holy hell did they ever! It didn't even _taste_ like curry."

"What did it taste like?"

"I don't know, it was wet but kind of slimy, too thick… It had hints of burnt toast and a weird metallic aftertaste. Also fish liver. I don't even know what fish liver tastes like, or if fish even have livers, but that was in there too somehow."

"Fish… liver?"

"Yeah, something like that, I don't know. To be honest I don't remember much of the experience since I'm pretty sure I blacked out."

Kou stifled a half-snort half-laugh in surprise, clapping his hand over his mouth and nose to make sure he didn't spray all over Yosuke's unfinished sandwich. "You what!?"

"I blacked out, I think. Next thing I remember is lifting myself up from the picnic table with the lingering taste of metal in my mouth, dazed."

"Wow man, that's intense…"

"I know, right? Poor Yu. Chie and Yukiko just stood over him watching expectantly, even after he had seen what happened with me. I tried to tell him not to eat it no matter what, but I guess he didn't really have a choice."

"Did he pass out too?"

"Yep. Out like a light. Took him a full minute to come to his senses again." Yosuke rubbed his forehead and forced a painful looking smile.

Kou sniffed and scratched his jaw. "You know, I guess it doesn't surprise me too much that Chie-chan couldn't pull it off. But Yukiko-san… I would have thought for sure that she would be able to handle making curry. She never helps cook for guests at the Inn?"

Before Yosuke could give him a response, a gruff, friendly voice interrupted his thought and prompted him to turn. "Hey guys," it said before the person it came from walked around Kou and dropped a brown paper bag on the floor, sitting cross-legged beside it. It was a boy wearing a blue Yasogami High track-suit, with messy brown hair and a white bandage placed at a lopsided angle over the bridge of his nose. He proceeded to dig through his lunch bag before pulling out a plastic container full of rice and beef.

"Man, I'm starving. Was so beat after practice yesterday I fell asleep before I could do any homework. I was trying to cram a little in before I ate. What did I miss?"

"Yo, Daisuke. Not too much." Kou eyed the boy's meal with slight envy, still unsatisfied even after his hearty portion. "We were just talking about how Chie-chan tried to murder Yu and Yosuke with curry."

The newcomer chuckled, "That so? Well maybe you can wait to tell me about it until after I'm done eating."

Yosuke turned and prodded Kou's shoulder with his elbow. "Are you disappointed Kou?" He asked in a mocking tone.

"Disappointed? About what?"

"About your lady's lack of domestic skills!" A giant grin spread out across Yosuke's face, revealing a smattering of leafy green leftovers stuck between his teeth.

"Not at all," Kou replied matter-of-factly, "My kind of woman doesn't need 'domestic skills'. She's too busy kicking ass to learn how to cook! Besides, a nice healthy beef-bowl at Aiya is better than a home cooked meal any day of the week." He sniffed the air, catching the scent of Daisuke's meal. "Could go for one right now…

"But that's neither here nor there, because I heard this guy's got his eye on _both_ of the girls, am I right Daisuke?"

The two turned towards Daisuke, who in the last moment had fixed his gaze on a blank portion of the wall as he absently lifted food into his mouth. When Kou said his name, his eyes shot up and he dropped the spoon into his bowl, his voice muffled by the rice held in his jaw. "Huh? Give me a break Kou, you know I'm not interested in that crap!"

"Relax, man, you know I'm just teasing you! Quit being such a prude."

"You think Daisuke's just afraid to ask a girl out?" Yosuke asked, his voice lifted in a mocking tone.

"Hmm…" Kou tilted his head back thoughtfully, "That could certainly be the case."

"Whatever." Daisuke rolled his eyes and continued putting rice into his mouth, little bits at a time.

"It's not that hard, Daisuke," Kou pressed on, "You just have to look for the blushie face."

"I'm not _afraid_ you moron- wait… _What_?"

"You heard me." He flashed a cocky grin. "It's easy. Just find out what the two of you have in common, go up to her and talk to her about it, and if you see the blushie face, _BAM!_ You're in!"

"You mean, like, her face turns red?" Daisuke's spoon was once again resting in his bowl.

"Yep. That's it."

Yosuke folded his arms, squinting at Kou curiously. "I'm… Not sure it's that simple dude…"

"Sure it is. 'Rosy cheeks; she wants the meat'!"

The other two teenagers glanced at each other, bemused. "Wow, that was stupid," Daisuke said flatly.

"You just made that up, didn't you?"

"Ignore him, Yosuke, he doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Oh yeah? Yosuke, you've seen the blushie face, right?"

Yosuke shifted uncomfortably on the floor, suddenly feeling like the temperature in the gymnasium had risen by a few degrees. "Uh, well… Yeah, I mean, you know… maybe?"

"He hasn't," Daisuke interrupted, "Because you don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"Fine, don't believe me. But I'm telling you, that's all there is to it." A smug half-smile sat on Kou's lips as he leaned back and put his hands on the floor behind him. "You should try it sometime," he said, nodding towards Daisuke.

"I don't need to try it to know you're full of shit. Where's _your _girlfriend if that's all it takes, huh?"

"I'm just too picky for my own good."

"What-_ever_! You're scared!"

"Look who's talking, _prude_!"

As the two continued squabbling over what was apparently the biggest question of their generation, Yosuke found his interest waning, and his eyes darted up to the clock above the double doors that led to the first floor hallway. The conversation suddenly left his attention. "Damn. I'm gonna be late!" He said, and started packing the empty containers that previously contained his lunch into a paper bag.

"Late for what?" Kou asked, perplexed at the sudden change in Yosuke's demeanor. "Lunch isn't over for another twenty minutes."

"Yeah, I'm not even done eating yet." Daisuke took another dainty spoonful of rice and beef. He had to be the slowest eater on the planet.

"I told Yu I'd meet him at the stairs before lunch was over. Got something I need to talk to him about." He stood up in a hurry.

"Well alright then. Glad we could keep you company before your '_partner'_ shows up." Kou feigned a look of disappointment.

"When you see him," Daisuke said, "Make sure to tell him to get his ass to practice. The guy's skipped the last couple days, and I can't keep covering for him."

"I will. Seeya guys." Yosuke gave them a quick half-salute half-wave before turning and walking towards the double doors.

` "Remember, Yosuke," Kou called after him, "Look for the blush!"

"Shut up!" Yosuke yelled back, causing the two teens to burst into a fit of laughter.

* * *

The narrow halls of Yasogami High seemed somewhat less crowded than usual for this time of day. Normally students would be out roaming the halls, heading outside to eat lunch or stopping by their lockers. Yosuke knew it was because not only was there a test coming up that many students preferred to use their lunch hour to study for, but the rainy weather keeping everyone indoors as well. The storm was letting up though, as the roaring din heard outside the gymnasium had eased to a gentle tapping against the windows near the lockers.

Upon reaching the stairs leading up to the second floor hallway, he turned and leaned his back against the opposite wall, folding his arms and checking the clock nearby. "_Should only be a couple more minutes_…"

He stared down at the floor and allowed himself to become lost in thought. His head was full of unresolved questions; the inherent weirdness of having a persona and entering a television screen to fight shadows was always there of course, but he found it harder to focus on those kinds of rationalizations than the feelings that resulted. Like his own encounter with his darker side for instance, and the fact that Yu seemed to have never faced his own while the others had. In his mind, he felt relief on his behalf, but couldn't dismiss his anger towards the boy who he had personally nominated as leader. He felt irritation at the fact that though they both came from the city and entered into the same social circle in the same boring town, Yu seemed to have a much easier time integrating and gaining trust from the others. It wasn't like it happened overnight—Yu was quite reserved when he first met everyone. Shy even… But as soon as he gained the power of persona, a power that appeared to come so naturally and easily, everything seemed to change.

Sighing, Yosuke lifted his head and rested it against the wall behind him. _He _had changed as well. He hated himself for feeling this kind of envy towards the boy whom he otherwise had nothing but respect for. He knew it was pointless to feel this way. His power was meant to help people, not to be a gateway to petty jealousy. That's why he had to talk to him. Maybe the kid could knock some sense into him, make him forget about all this stupid shit and focus on the real goal: catching the killer.

Yu's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey," he said, walking down the stairs carrying a messenger bag full of textbooks on his shoulder. "You aren't eating lunch?"

Yosuke glanced up at him, slightly annoyed. "I already ate with Kou and Daisuke. I told you I'd meet you here at 12:30 though, dumbass… Did you forget already?"

"No, but I thought _you'd _forget."

"Bullshit… you looked surprised to see me." Yosuke grinned.

Yu rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. "Alright, alright, you got me. I was trying to cram for the test a little early since I have to help Nanako with her homework later this week. I guess it slipped my mind. Sorry partner..."

"It's cool."

"So what's up?"

Yosuke's grin faded and he fell silent for a moment. He glanced off down the hall uncomfortably. "Well… Look, can we talk for a minute?"

"Yeah of course, that's what we're meeting here for isn't it? What do you wanna talk about?"

"I mean _after_ school," Yosuke muttered. "I've been thinking a lot lately, and there's something I want to get off my chest, but I think it would be better if we went somewhere besides here. Like Samegawa or something."

"Samegawa? Not Junes?"

"Nah, I don't want to go near that place today, not if I'm not working. Just come meet me at the flood plains after school, alright? It'll be a little muddy from the rain but we'll deal."

Yu hesitated, "Actually man, I can't… I've got other plans today."

"What? What plans?"

"Just something I have to take care of."

Yosuke sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "Fine, it's fine, I'll make it quick. It won't take long at all."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Hmm… I don't think so, that kind of stuff always takes up a whole afternoon…" Yu looked thoughtfully up towards the ceiling, his eyebrows disappearing under his bangs.

"Huh? What do you mean? It'll only take a few minutes!" Yosuke was getting more and more frustrated with the detached teen's flippant responses. "Samegawa is on the way home anyway. Whatever it is you've got going on after school it can wait twenty minutes—"

Suddenly, Yu grabbed Yosuke by the shoulders, and pulled his face uncomfortably close to his own. His blue-grey eyes widened, his expression taking on a look of fear, possibly paranoia. Gripping Yosuke's arms tighter as he spoke, his voice became lower, more frantic. "It takes longer than you think, Yosuke… Much longer than you think!" His face was white, his pupils were small, his gaze was locked into a wild-eyed stare, and for a second Yosuke's best friend appeared to have gone completely insane.

But just as Yosuke was starting to wonder what the group would do if their leader had to be committed, Yu's eyes relaxed, he released the shaken boy's shoulders and took a step back. Adjusting the strap of his messenger bag, he grinned at his friend's confused expression. "So yeah. We'll talk tomorrow, ok? Seeya later." He turned and started down the hallway.

Yosuke stood there stiffly with his mouth hanging open, not sure what to make of the thing that just occurred. He squinted his eyes and watched the silver haired boy walk calmly away down the hall, without any sign of looking back; A man on a mission.

He chuckled despite himself, and shook his head absently. "Heh. You don't have to be such a _dick_ about it…"

* * *

**November 3****rd**, **After School**

After the fall rains diminished and the wind died down, all that remained was the sound of dripping water from buildings' rooftops onto the street. The shopping district, normally bustling with kids just getting out of school or parents trying desperately to squeeze in last minute errands, was unusually silent. It had been quite a storm earlier.

It probably worked in his favor; Yu thought as he closed his umbrella, compressed the handle and stuffed the object into his bag. The fact that there were less people meant that he and Naoto could talk about the case and search for clues relatively unimpeded by nosy bystanders. The detective, approaching him in the morning briefly on the way to class, asked if they could go over details after school and talk about what they found at Junes the other day. She seemed to be somewhat more excited than normal, even a bit anxious. Could she not have been able to reach Yakushiji? Maybe she had been mulling over worst-case scenarios and one of them had gotten stuck in her head.

He rounded a corner and passed by an alleyway lit with an otherworldly blue glow, and kept walking, pretending not to notice. He soon came to the meeting spot; a small table outside of Sozai Daigaku, the place where Marie enjoyed her first steak skewer, and remained hooked ever since. The table was dripping wet, and there was no sign of Naoto.

"_Odd,"_ he thought, and removed his cell-phone from his pocket, flipping open the cover to check the time, or if he had gotten any messages. Four minutes past the hour... Was it like Naoto to be anything but punctual? Assuming she had just been held up after class for some reason or another, he took one of the chairs and dumped off the water that had pooled in the middle of the seat, before sitting down and placing his messenger bag in his lap.

Time passed by, without any sign of the pint-sized detective. He checked his phone again. "_Twenty minutes late_…?" He stood up and scanned the area, before turning to the young man reading a magazine behind the counter at the stand. Thinking she might have come early and left, he called out to the attendant. "Hey."

After a second without a response, the man realized he was being spoken to and looked up from his magazine, somewhat annoyed and confused.

Yu lifted his hand and held it up just below the height of his shoulder. "Have you seen a boy come by here, about this tall, navy blue cabbie hat, probably in a school uniform?"

The man looked thoughtful for a second, before snapping his magazine open again and returning his nose to the page. "Nope," he grunted from behind the cover.

Yu frowned, and shouldered his bag. He flipped open his phone. "_No messages…" _Scrolling through his contacts, he found Naoto's number. Simple enough, he'd just call her and make sure everything was okay. But just as he was about to hit 'send', a shrill giggling laugh echoed from up ahead. He'd heard that laugh before. He knew it all too well. Adjusting his shoulder strap, he marched down the road to investigate.

Two more blocks ahead, the situation became perfectly clear. There was Rise Kujikawa, the source of the laughter, Kanji Tatsumi, and the person of interest herself Naoto Shirogane, sitting in a semicircle at the entrance of Tatsumi Textiles, Kanji's family shop. Whatever Rise was laughing at, it had to be at Kanji's expense, since the hulking first-year didn't look too entirely pleased. Naoto sat to his left, an amused little grin on her face. She spotted Yu walking towards them, and her eyes lit up in a look of recognition, before she glanced back at Rise and shrugged her shoulders apologetically. It appeared she had been ambushed on the way to Sozai Daigaku and couldn't manage to escape.

Rise, noticing this, turned to see Yu approaching and immediately squealed, "Senpai! You're here!"

Kanji looked up and gave Yu a nod, wearing a pained expression on his face. "Senpai! Thank god you're here, I don't know how long I can put up with this chick on my own."

"Don't call me a '_chick' _Moronji!" Rise's mood immediately whiplashed and she planted her heel on the boy's shin.

Kanji doubled over and grabbed his leg. "Ack! Dammit Rise, that's still sore!"

Yu smiled and sat down on the stair next to Rise. "What are you guys up to?"

"I decided to come outside after the storm ended to see if I could spot any rainbows," Rise replied, "Kanji-kun was already here."

The other boy stammered, "Uh but I just came out to, you know, get some fresh air. Not to look for rainbows, or anything. Th-that's why Rise came out! Not me."

"Aww, Kanji-kun! You're so adorable!"

"Shut up, Rise!"

Rise ignored him. "Anyway, Naoto-kun was walking this way trying to look all insiputous! But I spotted her and made her come over and sit next to Kanji. Aren't I a great friend?" She turned to wink at Kanji, who suddenly went bright red in the face and directed his eyes elsewhere.

"Inconspicuous, Rise-chan." Naoto corrected, still seeming somewhat dazed by the whole event.

"Huh?"

"Unless you meant insidious, however I don't know if that would be the correct usage, at least in my case—"

"Senpai! What have you been doing lately? I haven't been seeing much of you!" The pig-tailed pop-idol, blatantly interrupting the detective, threw an arm around Yu and squeezed in close.

"Oof! Um… nothing too much, been taking time study a bit early this week since I'll be helping out Nanako with her homework later on. That's probably why I've been disappearing lately."

"_That excuse again?"_

"Wow, look at you, acting like the caring and responsible older brother!" Rise beamed.

"Well, it's not like I really have a choice, you know? Uncle Dojima's been working a lot lately."

"That must be tough on little Nanako-chan," Kanji said.

"Yeah. She's mature about it though, you know?" As Yu trailed off, his gaze drifted a few blocks down the road and came to rest on the alleyway he had passed earlier. The one giving off a soft blue glow…

"Excuse me." Naoto interjected, "I think I've found a rainbow." She pointed southwest, just left of where Yu's eyes had been focusing. Sure enough, in the sky above the end of the shopping district, just beyond a break in the clouds where sunlight spilled through, there was a beautiful, full-length rainbow. It connected the hills to the north of town and the suburbs surrounding Junes with a dim arc of color that became brighter the longer you looked at it.

Rise squealed in delight. "Oh it's so beautiful! Isn't it, Kanji?"

"Yeah, it's uh… it's not bad. I mean what is it anyway? It's just some dumb colors, right?"

Naoto grinned up at him. "Don't hold back, Kanji-kun. We all know you think it's pretty."

As Kanji's face turned so red it almost seemed purple, and Yu stifled an involuntary chuckle, Rise reached over and grabbed Naoto by the arm, pulling her back until she was practically on top of Kanji.

"Whoa, Rise-chan! What the—" she cried, the tone of her voice jumping higher.

"There, that's better!" Rise sat back down and placed her fingers together, creating a makeshift frame with her hands that she held up in front of her face at arms length, closing one eye and peering through. "Perfect. Kanji-kun and Naoto-kun together, with a beautiful rainbow behind them!" She threw her hands apart and brought them together again under her chin. "Ah, it's so romantic!"

"What!?" Kanji stammered and blushed even harder, if that was even possible.

Rise returned her arm to Yu's shoulder and leaned in until her lips were right next to his ear. She whispered, "Senpai, don't you think they'd make a cute couple?"

Yu, who had been sitting there just watching in amusement, looked at the two closely. Kanji looked like he was sweating bullets despite the chilly fall breeze, but unsurprisingly made no attempt to remove himself from their close vicinity. Naoto looked intensely uncomfortable, her hat had been pulled so far down her face that it seemed like her cranium was about to burst through the top. There was also a red hue that had spread across her cheeks.

"Hmm…" He said to himself, then grinned widely and said out loud, "Yep! They would make a great couple!"

The two jumped in apparent shock. "Huh?" Kanji shouted, "C-Come on Senpai!"

Naoto turned and shot Yu a frigid glare, but it was obvious she was still quite embarrassed.

Rise giggled with intense glee. "Oh, this is _so_ fun! Look how mad Moronji gets, Senpai! Haha!"

"You!" Kanji growled. "Cut it out, Rise!"

"You _know_ you love it Kanji-kuuuun!"

Yu looked at Naoto, who was still glaring at him in annoyance, and shrugged his shoulders, a big dumb grin still stuck on his face. She shook her head, then lifted her arm, pulling back the sleeve of her uniform. Yu's grin faded. She was wearing the watch. The one they had found at Junes…

As Kanji and Rise continued teasing each other, Yu watched Naoto closely as she silently pointed to herself, then tapped on the watch, then brought her hand up and pointed at him. It was obvious what she meant. But had she figured something out? Yu nodded in understanding, then gave a quick shrug that signaled "so?" She glanced over at Rise and Kanji, who were occupied with their own loud conversation, then glanced around the shopping district, moving her finger in a circular motion as she did so. She then repeated the last two motions; tapping her watch, then pointing to Yu.

"_I get it," _He thought,_ "'I'm watching you' probably means the culprit has his eyes on our every move, wherever we are… Which also means he could be watching us as we speak from somewhere nearby…"_

Yu nodded at her and began to scan around the shopping district. There were a number of places a stalker could hide, but none too practical. Most of these spots would be easy to see someone come in or out of. Behind cars, in the window of certain shops… It was clear that they would have to separate and go look around. But doing so now would only serve to make Rise and Kanji suspicious.

"I give up!" Rise moaned. "You're clueless, Kanji. Have fun being alone for_ever!_"

"What do you know? Besides, Naoto doesn't have time for your little games, right Naoto?"

"Correct," Naoto answered curtly, "I'm sorry Rise-chan, but your meddling isn't very effective."

"Huh. Well that was a quick answer…" Kanji frowned.

Yu remained lost in thought. He let his face relax and leaned his chin onto his palm. His eyes settled on a familiar resting point. Suddenly, it came to him. He sat up straight, his eyes locked on the alleyway with the blue glow. _"That alleyway… no one ever goes down it. It's well hidden, and you can easily check if there are any onlookers before you leave without them seeing you!"_

Naoto noticed his behavior and her eyes widened. She gave him an inquisitive look.

"Something wrong, Senpai?" Rise had also noticed his change in demeanor.

"_Think fast!"_

"Oh… I-I just remembered I have to buy something from Daidara's before heading home!" Yu stood up quickly and shouldered his messenger bag.

"O-okay. Are you coming back?"

"Probably not, Nanako's home alone right now, you know how it is."

"Right, of course. Well in that case I'll see you at school tomorrow!" Rise gave him her famous Risette smile.

"Yeah of course, I'll see you tomorrow! Later Kanji. Bye Naoto…"

Naoto looked up at him with confused, angry eyes that darted back to Rise and Kanji before coming up to meet his again. He didn't know what else to do, so he simply grimaced and gave her the most apologetic shrug he could muster while silently mouthing "I'm sorry," before turning and walking down the street towards Daidara's weapon shop.

"Later Senpai!" Shouted Kanji. Then to the others, "Man, he sure left in a hurry."

Naoto nodded silently, looking a bit flustered.

* * *

_"Heh, good old Rise. Always playing matchmaker." _Yu thought to himself as he strolled along the sidewalk towards the antique weapons and armor shop. _"They would make quite the odd couple, wouldn't they?" _He pictured the two of them sitting under the rainbow, looking as awkward as could be. Kanji, maybe sneaking an arm around her shoulder after a forced yawn. Sweating the whole time, of course. He pictured the two of them cornering the culprit, the bastard pulling out a knife and attacking Naoto, but not before Kanji could jump out in front of him and protect her, scaring the guy off and confessing his love to a frustrated and worried detective…

"_What the hell am I thinking about? Am I trying to solve a mystery or write a romance novel? Christ."_ He shook his head and focused on the task at hand.

First, he blew by the alleyway without turning his head, just like before. If the stalker were in there watching, he would probably be expecting him to go in at that moment. Besides, Rise, Kanji, and Naoto could all see him from where they were sitting. Instead, Yu entered Daidara's antique shop, said a quick hello to the old man at the counter polishing a piece of old armor, and walked right past him to a wardrobe in the back. Here, he opened the door to reveal a stack of various weapons: A large round shield, a pair of knives, a spiked gauntlet, a bladed fan, metal leg armor, and a sleek looking katana, all bundled together with a piece of twine in the corner. He grabbed the katana standing tall at the back of the wardrobe, slid it carefully away from the rest of the objects and rested the dull side of the blade on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Diadara." He said as he began to walk towards the entrance. He was met with no more response than a quick grunt as the old man continued polishing his armor, completely absorbed.

Yu hesitated at the doorway. From here, he could see his three classmates sitting on the steps of Tatsumi Textiles, chatting about one thing or another. They weren't looking in his direction. He glanced around, observing the surroundings carefully. There were only a few people walking the streets at this point, and all of them seemed more or less occupied. This was his chance. He gripped the handle of his katana tightly in both hands, and then moved outside, making sure to stay as close to the wall as possible, but moving quickly, and staying quiet. When he reached the edge of the alleyway he paused for a moment to calm his nerves. Did he really think anyone would still be there? "_Probably not, but I can't be too careful…"_

He rounded the corner tightly, his katana ready to swing, his breathing heavy. The glowing light made it hard to see anything immediately, but after a few seconds he calmed himself and stood up, bringing his sword down by his side. There was no one here. Nothing notable either, except for a large, glowing blue door, hovering in empty space inches above the ground. It was slightly translucent and covered in intricate designs and patterns, giving it a magical and otherworldly presence. Yu knew this door very well, of course, as it was the entrance to the Velvet Room. Igor and Margaret were likely sitting inside whatever strange dimension that door led to, waiting for him to visit and provide them the means to further his power.

Yu tried his best to ignore the floating apparition, and focused his attention on searching for any clues the stalker might have left behind. Other than the occasional loose piece of trash or gathering of dead leaves from the trees outside, there was nothing that really grabbed his attention. As he moved past the door and further into the alleyway, kicking at discarded wrappers from Sozai Daigaku, he noticed a very ordinary looking crumpled up magazine on the ground. He walked over and picked it up, finding the pages had bubbled and bent from water damage. Flipping it over to its cover, he realized that it wasn't just an ordinary magazine, but a TV guide. Upon skimming through the pages briefly, it appeared that there wasn't anything too remarkable about it…

"Did you find something?"

That voice made Yu jump and drop the TV guide into a puddle at his feet, before quickly spinning around and raising his sword instinctively in the direction of the newcomer. After a moment's analysis, his heart slowed its increased tempo and he realized who it was. He lowered his katana. "Naoto? Jesus, you scared the crap out of me! How did you know I was here?"

The small detective, silhouetted by the light outside the alleyway but illuminated by a faint blue glow from the door, smiled gently. "Really Yu-san, you couldn't be more obvious. You were staring straight in this direction before you left. All it took was a minute of searching."

Yu studied the detective's face, his mind racing. Did she notice it? Had she seen it before, and that's why she remained so calm? "_No, she's staring right at me. She would have at least glanced at the giant glowing door for a second. She can't see it… Only I can see it_." He stood up straight and allowed the breath he was holding escape his lungs. "Right. Sorry I left you back there. I didn't know how else to get away from Rise, and I had to check this out before it got dark…"

"You're not always as tactful as you seem, are you?" She said, her eyes regarding him with certain smugness. "So? Did you find any clues?"

"Nothing but trash and leaves. Oh, and this TV guide." He motioned towards the item on ground behind him.

"May I see it?"

Yu reached down and picked up the magazine, briefly waving it in the air to remove some of the rainwater before handing it to Naoto. She took it from his hand delicately, and proceeded to examine it; first checking the outside covers then carefully looking through page by page.

He watched for a time, impressed at her level of scrutiny over what he had almost casually written off as a piece of junk. Then he asked, "Hey Naoto… Did you ever happen to get ahold of Yakushiji-san?"

"I talked to him this morning, yes," she replied without looking up from the pages.

"Oh?" Yu was surprised to hear this. "And what did he say?"

"He seemed completely ignorant of the situation. He just said he must have taken off his watch at Junes because he spilled some food on it, then forgot to take it with him."

"Does he expect you to believe that?"

"No, probably not. But he wouldn't enlighten me further. He seemed to have no recollection of writing a postcard or leaving a message on the table at Junes."

"But it was his handwriting on the postcard, wasn't it?"

"At the time I was sure, but now I am open to alternatives."

"But it seriously sounds like it was him…"

Naoto closed the TV guide and looked up at him. "The most likely explanation at this point is that Yakushiji-san wrote the postcard and delivered it to my school locker, confident that we would follow the message and discover the watch that I crafted. It is likely that he wrote the message under the table as well. What doesn't seem clear to me is his motive. Yes, he could be laying out clues for me to solve an elaborate puzzle that my grandfather devised as a childish detective game, but if that were the case, why would he make the clues so mind-numbingly simple? Surely he would know that I am a professional detective, and simply playing hide and seek with messages is a waste of my time."

"And why would he deny his own involvement?" Yu added. "You'd think the first rule of making a game like this would be to _not_ reveal that you are the one leaving the messages?"

"There's another explanation; one that you've had an inkling of before, Yu-san."

"What's that?"

"It could be possible that Yakushiji-san is trying to communicate something to us that he is unable to say in person."

"So you think he might be in danger…" Yu trailed off.

"I'm unable to confirm that hypothesis, but it remains a possibility."

"Yeah… so, then… this person 'watching us'…"

Naoto flipped open the TV guide again, and held it out in front of her. "Hold this, please."

Yu nodded and took the magazine from her, keeping the open pages facing towards her. She pulled back the sleeve of her left arm, revealing the wristwatch they found at Junes. Aiming it at the pages in front of her, she used her other hand to press a button on the side that caused the watch to emit a bright light. She stared at the page. "I thought so."

"Hm?" Yu peered over his hand at the pages in question. On the paper there were various advertisements and show times listed for all kinds of television programs, but they weren't what caught his attention first. Written across one of the pages, lit up by the ultraviolet beam from the watch, was a new message.

"It's wax," Naoto said. "I noticed the water rolling off certain parts of this page. Clever, isn't it?"

"What does it say? Looks like 'int-op-er… Apathy?'"

She began spelling the letters out, "I-N-T-O-P-E-R… Apathy. I'm not sure what to make of it."

The words were written without spaces, and only the last word, apathy, was capitalized. Yu shifted around next to Naoto while keeping the page in the light in order to get a better look. Sure enough, the letters were clearly written: '_intoperApathy'_.

"Hmm… I'm stumped," he said. "It doesn't make any sense."

"This is certainly much more cryptic than the last message. Perhaps we'll need to take some time to mull it over."

"Is it some sort of code word? An abbreviation?"

"Possibly." Naoto released her hand and the UV light switched off. "If we follow the logic that Yakushiji-san is planting these clues, then it might be something related to me or my family somehow. I'll have to do some digging at home tonight."

"Fair enough. It's starting to rain again anyway, so we should probably meet up later." He held out his hand, feeling a cold drop from above hit his palm. It was just as well. That blue light was starting to give him a headache, anyway. He handed Naoto the magazine, shouldered his katana, and began to walk towards the street.

He was a little frustrated, though. The afternoon had felt like something of a let down, without any real progress to show for it. Sure, they had found a new clue and advanced the _case,_ but what was important was…

"Ugh!" Yu made a slight grunt and rubbed his temple.

"Something wrong, Senpai?" Naoto asked as she rolled up the TV guide and placed it in her coat pocket.

"It's nothing," he said, "Just a bit of a headache."

Naoto shifted and turned towards him, a curious expression on her face. "Well, maybe you should get it looked at?"

Yu chuckled, still rubbing his temple. "Where's this concern coming from all of a sudden, detective? I'm okay, maybe I'm just a little stressed out."

"Maybe so. I've experienced my fair share of migraines over stressful details of certain cases. Try to stay hydrated, and get some rest."

"Heh, thanks, I will."

She continued, "In fact I discovered I was prone to migraines when we visited the hospital last week. Perhaps you should have a look at your examination results when you return home tonight, just to make sure that's what you're suffering from."

"Yeah, sure, I'll check it out," Yu said in a slightly agitated voice, rubbing his eyes before bringing his hand down to his side. "Alright, let's get going then before it starts pouring. Do you want me to… walk you… um… home…?" The rest of the words escaped his lips only due to reflex, for his mind had snapped to a sudden realization mid-sentence. He froze, hearing no response from the detective standing behind him, only silence.

He turned his head, slowly at first, hesitating to meet her gaze. When he finally did, he found it was exactly as he feared. Her dark blue eyes were focused; cold, calculating, and accusing. Her lips were pressed together; she was squinting, analyzing his face, trying to read his current expression.

"So…" she said after what seemed like an eternity, "You took them home."

A panic overcame him. "No, look, that's not what I—" Yu stumbled over his words, trying to piece together something that would make sense, some kind of fool proof excuse. He was distracted! He was just answering without thinking; he hadn't even really _heard_ what she was saying! As strained an explanation as that was, he still tried to form the words, but found that he couldn't. All he could do was stand there slack jawed, thinking, "_Dammit… how could she have known…?"_

"Why Yu-san?" Naoto spoke softly and calmly, "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing—Look, it's just stupid, okay? Forget about it."

"You know I can't. There was a reason we went to get examinations that day. What were those results?"

The fact that Naoto was acting so in control upset Yu. He turned around until they were standing face to face. "Why do you care so much? Everyone else is fine, _I'm _fine, what does it matter what my results say? Didn't you shred the others anyway?"

Silence. He watched Naoto as she stared at him with a stern gaze. Her face, for just a second, faltered. Her eyes darted left, her brows twitched, her hands clenched into tight little fists…

"Naoto…" Yu spoke in a low voice that was barely above a whisper, "You said you were going to shred them…"

The space between them all of a sudden seemed like miles, yet the walls of the alleyway felt like they were slowly constricting. The light from the door to the Velvet Room seemed to grow brighter, as it framed the young detective in a glowing blue halo.

"They are relevant to the case," she said finally.

"The case? The case of the killer?"

"Yes and no."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" she sighed, "No, they are not directly relevant to the case regarding the string of murders. But they _are _relevant to solving a bigger case: the mystery of the TV world itself."

"And you need our information why? Just who are you giving it to?"

"A small group of professionals, including myself. Trust me Yu-san, the information is strictly regarding your persona abilities, and none of it is to be handled in any way outside of—"

"Bullshit!" Yu suddenly yelled, catching Naoto off guard and making her jump in surprise. "Why are you doing this behind our backs? Why weren't we involved?" His frustration grew, along with his headache. There was that voice again, screaming at him to stop before he ruined everything he was working towards, but in the heat of the moment it was paid no mind.

"Because it's in the jurisdiction of professionals. High school students may be able to target and track down a culprit, but deciphering the workings of an alternate reality and the implications that follow are best left to people who know what they are doing. I'm sorry, Yu-san."

"What are you talking about Naoto? How am I supposed to trust you when you are doing things like this behind our backs!?"

"Trust?" She said, her eyes suddenly narrowing, her cheeks flushed a dark shade of crimson, "Let's talk about trust then, shall we? Why did you hide your medical examination from the rest of the group? Why are you able to summon multiple personas, despite never having faced your own shadow? Why is it that these strange occurrences began happening shortly after you came to Inaba?"

Yu stood up straight, his face taking on a look of shock, not expecting to suddenly be on the defensive. The detective balled her fists tighter and took a step forward.

"And tell me, Narukami-san, how you are so familiar with this particular alleyway? I couldn't help but notice your returning to it numerous times since I've known you! What business are you conducting here?"

His head was pounding, his heart racing. _"This… No, this can't be happening!"_

"You see? There are things you won't tell the rest of your group. Things you are intentionally hiding, betraying our trust!" Naoto's voice rose above the limits of her own control, "You keep secrets for personal benefit, Senpai, but this isn't a game. The information I withhold is for your own good! For the good of everyone in this town! This case is bigger than all of us!"

Perhaps it was the feeling of being cornered, or the primitive anger that came from realizing that you were wrong and the other person was right, but something switched in Yu's head at that moment. All of a sudden the voice telling him to recover the situation was lost to a blinding rage. "For our own good?" he shouted, "You think we can't handle it? That we're not as 'professional' as you? Give me a _break_! _You're_ the one playing detective! _You're_ the one treating this like a game!" He slammed the tip of his katana into the pavement, causing a brief flash of sparks. "Face it, Naoto, you're just a child trying to one-up the other kids on the playground!"

At once there was an oppressive, suffocating silence, which seemed to completely fill the alley. Yu's chest heaved, his eyes squinted from the blue light that now seemed like it was coming out of a spotlight aimed directly at his face. Naoto, for a time, was just a shadow against the doorframe behind her. It made her look even smaller than usual...

Her eyes were regarding Yu with contempt, confusion, and… despair? She inhaled deeply, biting her bottom lip. Then, she gathered the collar of her jacket together with one hand, and rushed forward, knocking him to the side with surprising force before storming out of the alleyway and down the street.

The sound of footsteps faded. Yu stood there like a statue; nostrils flaring as he slowly calmed himself down, senses returning. He noticed the rain had picked up, and the air had gotten much colder. He could hear the clanging of water pouring out of the gutter outside of the antique store. He gazed up at the door in front of him, and in that moment his body became heavy, heavier than it should have been despite his rain soaked clothes. He closed his eyes.

"_Crap..."_

* * *

**Hello! It's been too long, hasn't it? I'm back with another heavy chapter, hopefully it's managed to hold your attention all the way to the end here. If it has, and you're reading this, congratulations! You're awesome. No, you didn't win anything, just my thanks and a high five that you'll have to give to yourself because I'm not there.**

**Kuroi Kage X - Thanks for the helpful tip! Seriously your advice got me even more excited to start writing this next chapter. After going back and reading a bit of my previous chapters (it burns!), I'd definitely agree with you. This time I tried to cut out all the exposition that wasn't completely necessary to the situation, although I bet it could still use an editor here and there. Thanks, and hopefully that's what you meant.**

**And thanks to the rest of you who have left a review or just decided to follow the story. Once again, please leave a review if you can, and let me know what you think.**


	6. Nowhere, Never, Nothing

_It had to have been maybe four or five minutes before Marie finally picked up the steak skewer. She had been staring at it intently, her slender shoulders hunched over the table, fingers prodding it like it was some mysterious specimen about to be dissected. Yu watched quietly with a patient smile on his face, amused at the girl's naiveté, as always._

"_You going to just stare at it all day?" Yosuke stood with his arms folded behind her, perhaps wondering what planet she grew up on. "You'd better eat it before it gets cold."_

"_Why? What happens then?"_

"_Are you kidding?"_

_Marie just looked up at him with a blank expression. Yosuke fidgeted, realizing that she definitely wasn't._

"_Um, I don't know… Because then it tastes bad? Haven't you ever eaten steak before?"_

_She shook her head before turning her inquisitive gaze to Yu. "Hey, why do they call it 'steak' anyway? Is it short for something?"_

_Yu thought for a moment, analyzing the girl's puzzled expression before nodding. "Yeah," he said, "It's short for 'steeeeaaaaaaak'."_

"_Oh, ok. How weird." She nodded earnestly._

_Yosuke rolled his eyes. "Don't lie to her, man… Jeez, you two are a couple of weirdos."_

"_How do you eat it? Can I watch you eat it first?" Marie asked._

"_Sure," Yu said, and picked the skewer up off the paper plate, "Like this." He opened up and bit the top piece with the side of his jaw, tearing it off the stick like an animal ripping meat from the bone. He then proceeded to chew the piece (which was much too large for a single bite) with a furious intensity, using his whole head, teeth bared and eyes wide._

_Marie simply squinted at him with a look on her face that showed honest bewilderment yet a sort of childish understanding. Yosuke, groaning, just clapped his hand over his face and shook his head._

* * *

Before today, that was one of the last times Yu had seen Marie look genuinely interested in something. Normally on his visits to the Velvet Room, Marie would be simply enamored with the blanket of fog covering the world outside, oblivious to what was taking place inside the limousine. While Yu was busy participating in the fusion ritual along with Igor and Margaret, she would sit there with her arms crossed over the messenger bag in her lap, feeling bored and useless.

Now, though, she had that same expression of confusion and understanding that had been on her face the first day he took her outside the Velvet Room. She was leaning forward in her seat, eyeing his face curiously as he managed a reluctant stare towards the card Igor held up in front of him. She was watching him fail miserably.

"Let's begin once more." Igor spoke in a smooth, sinister voice, the toothy grin noticeably absent from his face. He put the card he was holding back down on the table and moved to pick up the one next to it, while Yu buried his hands in a mess of silver-grey hair, cursing to himself. Margaret, who remained poised and present as always with that heavy book open in her lap, pursed her lips together in concern.

The old man lifted the second card and brought it in front of Yu with a brisk flick of the wrist, as if to make a point that this was the last chance he was giving.

"Concentrate. Look deep into your mind's eye and communicate with your thoughts alone—What is it that you see?"

Yu gazed into the card. He tried to let go of the screaming mess of thoughts whirling around in his head. "_I'm here_. _I'm present; I'm in the now. Where am I? The Velvet Room… I'm sitting on a velvet seat. I'm inside a moving vehicle traveling through endless fog. I'm looking at this card, this window to my soul, a mirror reflecting back at me my inner thoughts and desires. I see… blue. I see patterns, I see a picture of a mask, I see… A card. Yes, only a card, no more, no less." _It wasn't working.

"_Dammit! Focus, Yu! Look beyond what's physical, what's actually there! You've done this before… " _

He started again._ "Okay… I'm here, I'm now. I see a card… No, a window… I see a door. A blue door, standing tall in front of me— {"Tell me, Narukami-san, how are you so familiar with this particular alleyway?"}_

"…_I see the door opening. White light is spilling out. I'm completely engulfed by light. I'm walking inside. There's… what is it? A figure… {"Face it Naoto, you're just a child trying to one up the other kids on the playground!"} …No, there's light, just light, nothing else… the door—{"You're betraying our trust!"} …It's closing! The light's fading… I see… A window, no… A card. I see a card, nothing more, nothing less. What am I doing? What _is _this?"_

The old man's lips curled down into a scowl, his expression visibly darkened. "What went wrong, my boy?" He asked slowly, his voice sounding like it was creeping up from the back of his throat.

"I don't know…" Yu lamented, his back resting against the seat back once again. "I was searching… I had almost found something. I was so close this time, and then…"

"And then what?"

Yu shifted uncomfortably. "Again, I don't know. I messed up, and I couldn't focus."

"Then shall we try again?" The old man sounded weary, and he was quickly becoming impatient.

"Why?" Yu sat up, suddenly feeling frustrated. He didn't want to try again. This game Igor was playing… It was about time Yu got to the bottom of it. He glared right back at the old man. "What does it matter?"

"Excuse me?" Igor simply stayed frozen, the card held in the air in front of him and the scowl still marring his features. He waited for the boy to explain himself.

"Are more personas really getting us closer to finding the culprit? Don't I have enough already?"

Igor's eyes narrowed.

"Is this for me or is this just to fill out Margaret's big book?" He glanced at Margaret, who could barely contain a little smirk at that comment.

Sighing, he lowered his head and leaned his elbows onto his knees. "I'm gonna be the one to save this town. But this… this doesn't make any sense to me anymore. Personas, Shadows, strengthening bonds… I try to keep connecting it to reality but it just turns into nonsense." He leaned back again and thought for a moment. The clever detective with the cabbie hat and the dark blue eyes entered his thoughts once again.

"Look, there are people out there actively searching for the cause of all this, inside the TV world and out. Yet here I am, staring at cards in a fucking blue limousine. Is this just a waste? Maybe I just don't understand the point."

Perhaps his head wasn't right today, but Yu felt unusually apathetic about the whole situation. He knew it wasn't like him to give up on a challenge. He'd never otherwise fail to prove his own self-worth… _"Everything was fine until 'she' got involved, right?" _How petty… How cliché.

"I'm overthinking it, right? I get it, only _I_ have this power, but—"

He was interrupted by the sharp bang of a fist slamming against the wooden table. "Enough!" Igor yelled, making the three other passengers jump in their seats. "You really know nothing do you? Insolent child…" The old man's face became twisted, his eyes bulged, his enormous nose wrinkled and lifted in a snarl. He looked like a different person, and suddenly far from human. Yu realized it was because he had never seen the man this angry, this truly _hateful_ before. He recoiled in shock, gripping the edge of his seat as if the sheer force of Igor's stare could drive him backwards into the fog.

"Your indecisive, self-involved babbling will achieve nothing but a test of my patience; an utter waste of my time. Let me tell you something, boy," he raised a boney finger in Yu's direction, "There are many others with this potential. Not just a handful, mind you- Hundreds, thousands of people, boys and girls, their powers waiting to be awakened and guided by yours truly. Why, in Japan alone there are enough would-be wild card users to begin drafting a small army! Some would struggle more than others, of course, but tell me; why should I not leave and find a new subject who isn't as fickle or as weak-minded as you to devote my energy to? Please, do enlighten me!"

Silence. Yu was speechless. There were thousands of others with the potential? What did that mean? He had not expected this kind of reaction from Igor in the slightest, and he found himself trying to come up with words but failing. It didn't seem to matter, though, since apparently Igor had no need for an answer.

"There is no way to put this nicely: This is a quest for the truth, whatever you choose it to be_._ But in order to obtain it, you will create personas, and you will use others to do so, including your friends. You will manipulate them if you have to. You will strengthen these bonds and you will come back here to build your power because only through this power will you find what you are looking for. This is where I will assist you. But realize that you are also competing for my time. Do you understand me? You are _not _'special'! You are just the one whom I have chosen to rise to the occasion."

"But… you told me when I first came to Inaba-" Yu started apprehensively.

"Yes. I know." Igor's tone became flat; slipping into a dark, low murmur. "I told you exactly what your deflated ego needed to hear at the time."

Margaret, who had been shaken by Igor's outburst as well, collected herself briefly and gave Yu a tiny, sympathetic smile. "Sometimes humans struggle with the reasoning behind their perceived actions," she said in a gentle voice, "Perhaps you need to take a step back and re-evaluate your own." Her yellow eyes regarded him with a certain understanding, or as much as a being living outside of time could truly understand a human.

"Maybe you're right," Yu responded, his grip on the seat relaxing.

Igor never softened his piercing glare as he brought his gloved hands together to rest under his crooked beak. "Do what you will. But know this: any further blundering and your contract with us will be terminated. You will no longer be welcome here in the Velvet Room. Trust me, I have no attachment to your little town or the people you surround yourself with. If you should fail I will not lose sleep over letting them all fall to shadows. Are we clear?"

That last sentence sent a chill running from his cranium all the way down to his toes, but in spite of this disturbance he decided against speaking out.

"Yeah…" Defeated, he felt himself giving in to his exhaustion, his body curled over and he once again rested his head in his hands. The air around him seemed fuzzy, and he felt weak. He looked up only to see the residents' faces wavering, dissipating.

"Good. Now do not return until you are ready to succeed." Igor's voice began to take on his usual chipper tone again despite the venom in his words. It was also becoming hollow, and sounding farther and farther away.

The last thing he heard before he vanished was Marie, who called out to him softly, "Don't give up, Yu…"

* * *

A few moments passed after the boy faded out of the Velvet Room. Igor closed his eyes. "Sometimes I lament this task I've been given."

"Should you really have been so hard on the boy?" Margaret asked.

"Perhaps not. But we have seen the path he's been traveling, and my patience is wearing thin. I've no desire to babysit these children."

"Then I'll go to him. I'll try to find a way to turn him around. I still see potential in his heart."

"Do you?" Igor gave a snort and a small chuckle in amusement. "You poor women… constantly falling in love with our guests…"

Margaret's head shot towards him, her eyes flashing white. "Please, spare me your generalizations, you old crow! I am not like my sister and I mean nothing of the sort. I simply wish to uphold my end of the contract, something you seem to have no desire to do!"

As a guardian of power, Igor knew that Margaret was a force to be reckoned with. However, he also knew she was fiercely loyal, and would never break the terms of her contract by becoming overly aggressive towards him. He remained calm, and simply chuckled once more. "There is no need for your intervention. I still wish to see how this plays out."

Marie looked up, previously lost in thought and staring at her shoes. "So… Is Yu not able to fuse personas anymore?"

Igor barely spared her a second's glance. "I never said that."

"Huh? But I thought the whole reason you got mad…"

The old man said nothing. He simply moved his right hand over one of the three cards on the table and gave a flick of the wrist. The card turned itself over and lay face up. There was something there. A persona… It was a human-like figure, wearing a long trench coat and a devilish iron mask, holding what looked like a knife stuck to the end of a polearm. It looked very similar to the persona that Yu initially discovered… Izanagi, Margaret recalled. But this one was different, somehow. Its coat, instead of being an elegant black in color, was a deep shade of blood red. And its eyes… There was something about those eyes, staring out at them blindly. They looked… empty.

Margaret leaned forward, the breath catching in her throat. She watched as Igor turned over the next two cards in a similar manner, one after the other. They were the same. All blood red, all the same. "Oh my…"

* * *

**-This one is another piece of a chapter that just became its own chapter. Trying to keep the momentum going, I guess. Also trying to avoid the 8000 word plus wall of text when I can, might make it a bit more accessible.**

**-The ending to this chapter... Yeah, I _do_ know where I'm going with this but I don't know if I'm entirely happy with the way it's presented here. Well, you can always let me know in the reviews, so please review!**

**-Thanks for reading! More soon to come!**


	7. The Heartbreak Trigger

**November 3****rd****, Evening**

Yu tucked his head further into his collar and held his jacket closed with a white-knuckled grip. The wind had picked up on the way home and the rain was pouring. He had given up trying to use his umbrella due in part to the vicious winds, but mostly because he was already soaked to the bone and just didn't care. The streets of the neighborhood where his uncle Dojima lived were empty, and the adjacent homes emanated warm yellow light from their windows where people had retreated to escape the storm. Passing cars were scarce; it was rare for Inaba to get this kind of severe weather, so people tended not to drive around if they could help it. Grumbling to himself, Yu folded his arms and hunched over into the wind, deciding to blame his bad luck on what had turned out to be a very sour day.

He was wet, shivering and miserable when he finally reached the front door. His bag, now carrying what was probably a bunch of soaked textbooks that would have to be replaced later, felt like it weighed 300 pounds. Dojima was probably expecting him, so he could count on the front door being unlocked; he took some comfort in that. Hurrying up the driveway, he reached the door and slumped against it with his shoulder, exhausted. Grabbing the handle, it slid open with some effort, and he immediately felt the comforting heat and warm light pouring out to greet him. He had barely made it onto the mat just inside the front hallway when he heard the patter of little feet on the carpet, running up to the kitchen, where a sweet little girl in brown pigtails and a pink dress poked her smiling face around the corner and said ecstatically, "Welcome home, big bro!"

Instant feelings of both exhaustion and joy came then. It must have been partially the warmth of the house, the familiarity of this environment. The sound of the evening news, barely audible on the tv but which had always been left on during dinner certainly played a part. But above all, the beaming face of his little cousin Nanako, cheeks pink and grinning ear to ear, lifted his spirits enough that a smile raised his own numbed cheeks, and his body suddenly felt lighter. He lifted the messenger bag off of his shoulder and let it drop to the floor with a heavy "splat!" allowing him to stand up straight and stretch his shoulders back.

The girl's expression changed when she saw the state he was in. "Wow… you're all wet! Did you walk all the way home in the storm?"

More footsteps came, but these were much heavier, more deliberate. Ryotaro Dojima walked out from the kitchen area, his hair slightly disheveled and his five o'clock shadow looking more like ten. His eyes widened when he saw the boy. "Welcome home- Jeez, Yu. You're a mess! Where the hell were you? We had dinner ready over an hour ago!"

"Sorry…"

"Well hold on, let me get you a towel so you can at least dry off your feet before you come walking in. I don't need water tracked all over the floor. And before you come downstairs put some new clothes on. We've got a guest tonight."

"A guest?" Yu looked perplexed. It wasn't often his uncle had people over for dinner.

"But daddy," Nanako looked up at her father, "You said Adachi-san isn't a real 'guest'."

"Nanako, why don't you go grab your 'big bro' a towel." Dojima said, trying his best to pretend she didn't say anything.

Adachi was here? Yu peered around the corner and saw a young man with messy, unkempt hair and a dark suit jacket that was overdue for a dry-clean sitting on the far side of the table near the television. Upon noticing Yu at the door, he dropped the piece of sushi he was attempting to steal from the plate at the opposite end of the table and sat up quickly, letting out an involuntary chuckle along with a hesitant, awkward hand wave. Yu frowned, not really in the mood to converse with his uncle's co-worker. He waved back.

After he had dried off and changed into some warm clothes, feeling a bit better about himself already, Yu came downstairs and took a seat cross-legged opposite Adachi at the table. Nanako was to his left, kneeling, with her eyes a bit glazed over from watching the TV. When he sat next to her, she looked up at him and grinned.

"Are you feeling better? You look warmer."

Yu sighed, not sure himself if it was from contentment or fatigue. "Yeah, I guess I picked a bad time to walk home, huh? Sorry about that."

"If you had come home right after school you wouldn't have been caught in that downpour," Dojima scolded. He was sitting behind Nanako on the couch; one leg crossed over his other knee, holding the tv remote in his hand. "Did you get stuck at school?"

"Not at _school _per se_, _but something like that."

"Big bro!" Nanako chirped, "I saved you some sushi! Adachi-san tried to steal some but I told him to lay off!"

Adachi chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Heheh… hey, I swear I didn't know! I thought you might not be coming home!"

"You're a big fat liar!" Nanako stuck out her tongue at the detective and tried to make a raspberry noise, but found herself suddenly overcome by a long yawn. Her father noticed.

"Alright, it's past your bedtime, missy." Dojima shifted and stood up, putting a hand on the girl's back. "Time to hit the sack."

"But…"

"No buts, Nanako. Come on, you wanted to stay up until Yu got here, and now he's here so it's time for me to tuck you in."

"Can you read me a story?" Nanako asked, her words obscured by another yawn.

"Sure," Dojima said, and then glanced up at the two sitting at the table. "Sorry, I've got to go put this one to bed. I'll be back in a few." He took the girl's hand and began walking towards the girl's room.

They said their goodnights, and Yu found himself alone in the living room with detective Tohru Adachi. For a moment, all that could be heard was the pattering of rain as the storm eased up outside. Soon it would let up altogether, leaving behind a silent, eerie fog, where the only sounds would be the buzzing of the street lamps and the rare hollow crunch of a car's tires driving by. How could he predict this? It had been seven months since the incidents started happening in Inaba, and each time they occurred it was on a day like today. He knew what to look for.

Adachi cleared his throat and finally began to speak with his usual high-pitched, uneasy delivery. He never quite knew how to converse with kids or teens. "Um… You know, Dojima-san let Nanako-chan stay up two hours past her bedtime because she wanted to see you when you came home."

Yu smiled. "She's a good kid."

"You've made quite an impression on her, haven't you, 'big bro'?" He gave an awkward laugh.

Yu said nothing, just shrugged and looked back at the hallway where Dojima had taken his little cousin to bed. Seemingly out of nowhere, he recalled the note she had handed to him, the one in the unmarked envelope with no sign of a return address. "_Don't rescue anyone else…" _Why did that come up all of a sudden? It was very unusual, as he had tried to dispel it from his thoughts some time ago.

"Well," he heard Adachi's voice, "Since it will be a few minutes until Dojima-san gets back…"

There was a _clunk _of something heavy and metallic being placed on the table, then a sliding sound, getting closer before stopping just behind him. Yu turned and looked down at the object on the surface as it finished spinning slightly before coming to rest. It was tarnished silver, with a plain looking grip and a scratched up revolver cylinder. It looked heavy, despite its concealable size… "_It looks like Naoto's…"_

Yu glanced up at Adachi, a questioning look on his face.

"What?" Adachi smiled. "Go ahead, pick it up. Haven't you ever wanted to know what it's like to carry one of these?"

Yu hesitated, staring at the thing on the table for quite some time. He then slowly reached out and grasped the handle, lifting it off the table. It was heavy, but not as heavy as he'd thought. The grip was comfortable. It fit in his hand quite naturally. He turned it side-to-side, fascinated with it despite himself.

"When I was your age, I always envied cops that were able to carry guns around. Seemed like such a power trip. Pretty cool, huh?"

Cool? Is that how Naoto felt when she was issued her firearm at such a young age?

"Why are you giving me this?" Yu asked.

Adachi shrugged. "Because Dojima-san would kill me if he found out I let you mess with that. Oh… I'm not giving it to you. You have to give it back. Unless you want to just shoot me and take it for yourself." He smirked, obviously joking. Still, Yu couldn't help feeling a bit uneasy all of a sudden

Without any more hesitation, he put the gun back on the table and slid it over to Adachi. "Because Dojima would kill you? I don't get it."

"Come on, haven't you ever wanted to do something you're not supposed to do before? Quit being so boring." He picked up the pistol and holstered it under his jacket. "Like, you're talking to a stranger you just met, having a normal conversation, and then all of a sudden you just flick him in the nose. Out of nowhere. Wouldn't that make for a more interesting situation?"

The words seemed foreign, but there was little doubt Yu had entertained hilarious thoughts like that while engaging with particularly boring people. He would never _actually_ do those things though. Subconsciously, he brought his hand up to cover his nose.

Adachi snorted and laughed out loud. "Haha! Don't worry, I'm not gonna do that to you. You know what's funny? I actually used that angle in an interrogation once. I asked the same question, then I took it a step further… Have you ever just been in a situation where you would find it more exciting to _kill_ the person? Like if I just handed you my gun, what would be the least boring thing that could happen? You shoot me, right?"

Yu squinted at him. He didn't quite know what Adachi was getting at, but he felt intensely uncomfortable. He was somewhat familiar with the man, Dojima's bumbling and incompetent partner. If Dojima spent so much time with him he must be harmless, but still… Was Adachi showing Yu another side to him? He wasn't sure.

"Uh… Th-This is just something I said to him, you know, to see what kind of response I would get! You know, like on the cop shows." Adachi held his hands up in a defensive manner, obviously realizing that what he was saying might be taken the wrong way. "But guess what? It worked! The guy confessed! Crazy, right? How stupid do you have to be?" He was boasting, but when he reached up to loosen his tie a little bit more, it was obvious he had concluded that talking that much was a bit overzealous. "Heh… look, I know you won't tell Dojima-san about all this, right? I've slipped up before and you've had my back."

A chuckle escaped Yu's lips, and he found his wariness fading somewhat. "Yeah, but that was just for talking too much about the murder case. You just gave a deadly weapon to a minor and told him about your interrogation techniques."

Yu grinned as Adachi squirmed and brought his hand up to the back of his neck again. "Well, you know, you gotta grow up sometime, right?" He said. "Think of it this way, Dojima's your strict Dad and I'm your cool older brother. I never had one of those, but I know how much of a bummer it is to have a father like that. My Dad used to make me study a lot, and when I didn't he would say things like, 'Don't let me catch you slacking off,' and, 'you need to be ready to succeed!' What a stiff…" He rubbed his chin and smiled a goofy, friendly smile.

"Yeah…" Yu's eyes lowered. He wasn't exactly keen on the detective's mentality, but for some reason he could sympathize. Those last words though… They sounded very familiar. "I think I know what you mean."

Dojima came downstairs then, looking a bit fatigued. He sat down at the table and the three of them made small talk for a while before Adachi said he had to go. Dojima offered to give him a ride home since it was still raining a bit and Adachi had come straight from the station with him. The two of them took off, leaving Yu alone with his thoughts once again. Quite a bit had happened that day, and he was tired. But for some reason, he couldn't stop his mind from racing. The conversation with Adachi, the warning letter, the argument with Naoto… though his body wanted rest, he knew his mind wouldn't let him sleep quite yet. He glanced at the clock. It was eleven. The rain had quieted from a droning gale to a light shower outside the house. He knew the fog would be here soon.

He went to his room and passed the time reading a book about fishing, a sure-fire way to lull his senses into boredom and finally rest. The clock was his foil, however, as the approaching midnight hour only served to tense his nerves. He caught himself eyeing it twice even before a minute had passed. At 11:20, he heard Dojima come in, rustle around the kitchen for a bit then head to his room. At 11:45, he closed his book, unable to concentrate anymore. At exactly 11:58, he stood up, went to his window and slid open the curtains. The rain had stopped, and quiet fog had enveloped the town. He could barely see ten feet outside.

The familiar sound of static filled the room. Yu turned and slid the curtains closed, his heart racing. This was it. A cool light shone from the previously blank tv screen, sending shadows dancing on the walls of his room. He stared at it as he walked closer, trying to make sense of the image through the waves of static. The outline of a figure could be seen. It was small… smaller than any of the images of people he had seen before. It was difficult to say for sure… but it looked to Yu like a child. As he pushed his face closer to the screen and squinted his eyes, he thought he could make out little pigtails; but it could have been his imagination. Surely the child on the screen couldn't have been any older than Nanako… "_was it…?" _The screen went dark.

After calling and confirming the appearance of a small child with Yosuke, Yu got into bed; where he lay wide awake, motionless, staring at the ceiling until morning finally came.

* * *

**November 5****th****, After School**

She should have thought to bring knee-high rain boots. The walk up to the television station was a slog, mainly because her feet insisted on stepping in every muddy sinkhole they came across. Starting from behind Yasogami High, there was a service road that went down a small hill before climbing about a mile thereafter, leading to the abandoned TV station at the top. The area here had been long neglected. Bushes and weeds had obscured the muddy dirt road, and she found herself pushing through tree branches that would have been cut down had many cars been driving through. The rain, though lighter than yesterday, was still relentless.

"_Senpai must have had an interesting walk home the other day." _She thought to herself with some regret. He hadn't been at school today or yesterday, and she wondered if it was because he had gotten sick. She thought about what occurred, and how they had left things. Naturally, as she was prone to doing, she blamed herself. "_I shouldn't have run off like that. It's my fault for keeping things from him… I acted emotionally when I should have stayed rational…" _Of course, he had kept things from her and the rest of the group for a long time, although perhaps his reasons were less tangible than hers. Still... How _dare _he call her a _child_? Did he look down on her? No... It was strange, but Naoto suddenly felt that perhaps Yu wasn't the infallible leader the other students made him out to be. Twice since she had known him he'd lost his cool when she had pressed him for answers. But what secrets could he be keeping?

Judging by the utter strangeness of the world inside the TV, it was possible that Yu had stumbled upon yet another disturbing facet of reality hidden behind the scenes that only he knew about. "_Quite a mysterious boy_…"

She pushed a branch out of the way and shivered as water splashed onto her face from the wet leaves. The air leaving her lips was visible; it was starting to get too cold even for her heavy jacket.

She took a moment to ponder that last thought. Was he so mysterious? Not as much anymore, maybe. She found that she was beginning to understand his behavior and perhaps his motivation little by little the more they worked together. The way he seemed to act more outgoing in unfamiliar situations, or use sarcasm to mask vulnerability… Or the way he seemed upset when he felt like he was losing control of his emotions. Like her…

The fog had thickened considerably by the time Naoto reached the top of the hill. The wooded area began to thin out, and soon the dark outline of the broadcast station could be seen ahead. The building was modestly sized, and almost as tall as it was wide, like a perfect cube. She could make out the busy outlines of dishes and signal receivers covering the roof. Behind it, the steel tower antenna shot upwards, the top of it disappearing into the low hanging clouds. The mud was thick here too. When she stepped into the clearing the rain began to fall unobstructed by the trees, so she opened her umbrella once again and walked until she saw a large black van parked in the mud just outside the front door. There, her contacts waited for her. One was a square-jawed older man with salt and pepper hair and square glasses, standing with a hand in the pocket of his long, tan trench coat. The other was a tall, lanky young man wearing a vest and hoodie over a collared shirt with a bushy head of curls that added at least a few inches to his height. He was leaning against the hood of the vehicle with his arms folded across his chest, kicking mud off of his sneakers. The two of them held matching black umbrellas.

"Shirogane! Welcome!" Ito called out, his eyes creased behind his glasses in a broad smile. "How about this weather, eh?"

"Sorry I'm late." Naoto said as she walked up to them. She was only a foot or so shorter than Ito, she realized, but barely came up to the middle of the tall man's ribcage.

"It's a bit hairy getting through those woods on foot, so I completely understand. Thanks for agreeing to meet us here."

The tall man, Abe, looked down at her from the corner of his eye and made a noise. "Hmph."

"I beg your pardon?" Naoto responded formally.

"Ah, nothing..." he said, "It's just that you look a bit different than you did online."

Naoto raised an eyebrow at him. Ito chuckled, "I'll bet you say that all the time to the ladies, don't you Abe?" He nudged the boy with his elbow playfully.

"Whatever, old man!" Abe grumbled, swatting the detective's arm away with his free hand. Ito burst out laughing. It was such a lively, bellowing laugh; so contagious that Naoto couldn't help but crack a smile.

"At least I'm not an old creep, hiring little boy detectives to do my field work." Abe retorted.

Ito's laughter took a moment to subside. "Oh Abe, you're not the only pretty boy genius in town you know. Trust me, I'd rather be spending my time with adults than have to listen to your entitled bellyaching all day. Unfortunately, they've all been snatched up by the Kirijo group!" He smacked the tall one's back and laughed. "So I guess we're stuck with each other!"

Naoto could have watched the exchange with amusement were the rain not soaking into her socks, making standing there more uncomfortable by the minute. "Excuse me… What was the reason for calling a meeting here?"

"Ah, right." Ito adjusted his coat. "The weather is pretty foul, so I'm sure we'd all appreciate it if we got to the point."

Naoto nodded, while Abe re-folded his arms, and went back to looking slightly annoyed.

"This television station behind us has been abandoned for quite some time," Ito gestured towards the building behind them, "And from here on out, it will be the center of operations while the two of us are in town. There are various reasons for that, but mostly because from here we can intercept signals and keep an eye on any midnight channel activity that pops up."

"It will be me who sticks around here for the most part," Abe chimed in.

"Yes, I will be here occasionally, but I have to report back to headquarters every so often. I can coordinate things just as easily from outside the town."

"And where do I come in?" Naoto asked, "Does this mean you want me monitoring television activity?"

"No, of course not. You will continue your investigation. Another party will perform the signal interception, and Abe will be monitoring it while he's here running tests. Shirogane, you have the best access to the TV world and the shadows. The most we can do from here is observe."

"I understand. Then why invite me here?"

"Because I want you to know where we'll be while we're in town. Also, there is something important Abe wants to give you… Abe?"

Abe, who had been busy staring out at the woods, looked up and then down at Naoto. His eyes brightened, and for the first time ever an obvious grin spread across his face. "Wait until you see this," he said.

Turning, he slid a heavy looking silver briefcase out from behind him and placed it on the hood of the van. He handed Ito his umbrella, who took it with his free hand and held it up so that both Abe and the briefcase remained dry. Naoto, wary but intrigued, inched closer to get a better look.

Abe punched in a code on a 5-digit row of numbers laid out near the handle, then pressed his thumb onto an interface nearby. There was a beep, then a 'pop!' sound, and the lid of the case opened slightly by itself. He turned the case towards Naoto, and opened it the rest of the way.

"It's still more or less a prototype," he said, the enthusiasm apparent in his voice. She'd never seen him this excited before. "But it's a newer version than the one I use, and a bit more streamlined."

Naoto moved closer, and stared at the open briefcase with intense interest. Inside, surrounded by protective foam padding was a pistol. It was three times the size of her police issued handgun, and looked at least that much heavier. The barrel was long, the construction similar to a .44 magnum revolver but with an enormous cylinder that appeared to be able to hold seven rounds, instead of the normal six. The seventh chamber was considerably larger than the others. It was an impressive looking weapon, if a bit clunky and excessive. Naoto examined it for a moment longer before looking up at Abe inquisitively.

"It's a little inconvenient to carry around," Abe said, seeming to read her thoughts. "But wait until you hear what it can do."

"Yes, please, I'm curious what I'll need with a pistol that looks like it was designed to take down elephants," Naoto remarked dryly.

"Heh, try bigger game… Shadows!"

"Ah… So this is the anti-shadow weapon that puts the Kirijo group to shame?"

"Don't sound so smug. They _wish _they had these designs. They're busy wasting resources with their buggy persona-using robots. Such a disaster! Anyway, it's not the gun that's the important part. It's the ammo."

Abe pointed to a case just below the barrel of the pistol, which presumably held the bullets. "Anti-shadow ammunition." He grinned again.

"I see…" Naoto's interest was piqued; she brought a hand up to stroke her chin, a habit formed as a child by imitating the mannerisms of famous detectives on TV. "And how are these more effective than persona using androids?"

He barely held back a condescending chuckle. "Shadows are mysterious things, but they aren't intangible. They're made up of these fundamental parts, like us. They're made up of cells, and those cells are made up of even more discreet parts. Unlike us, though, whatever 'matter' they are made of is constantly changing its shape and properties, and some of these shapes clash with the others. You might be familiar with concept of weaknesses when fighting them?"

"Yes… Somewhat." Naoto replied. She hadn't actually had too much experience fighting shadows. She had only recently been rescued by Yu and the investigation team and had manifested her persona at that time. Afterwards, Yu, Kanji, and Chie had taken her into the TV world for some training, but that was only for a few hours at most, and there hadn't been any more kidnappings since.

"Well that's essentially one shape clashing with or resisting another, like electromagnets that repel or attract. Only that's just what's happening on the surface. If you dig deeper, you can see this stuff occurring on a cellular level or smaller. And with a little tweaking…" He paused then, trying to think of a way to explain this to a high-schooler, even one as bright as Naoto.

"How about this, what happens when a particle of matter and a particle of anti-matter come in contact with each other?"

She hesitated, and took a moment to adjust her cap. Though she was a brilliant detective for her age, when it came to subjects like physics or math she only had the knowledge that was gained from attending normal classes. They didn't teach particle physics in high school. So, she gave it her best guess. "Umm… They cancel each other out?"

"They annihilate. So yeah, more or less. They cease to exist. Good guess, 'boy genius'," Abe grinned again, amused at Naoto's frustrated expression. "It's pure anti-shadow matter in those shells. One shadow, one bullet, BOOM! Annihilated."

"They won't do too bad against elephants, either," Ito added jokingly. He closed the briefcase and handed Abe his umbrella, then picked up the case and held it out in front of him. Naoto took it reluctantly, finding it quite heavy. Her arm dropped and she winced slightly as the weight pulled down sharply on her collarbone. Her shoulder would be aching soon. Ito continued, "You'll need this in case you have to enter the TV world alone. Can't be too careful around here, either."

She looked up at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"You've read the Kirijo reports haven't you? Three years ago shadows were spotted on Tatsumi Port Island. And with the activity going on around here, I wouldn't be too surprised if there was another incident."

"What!?" Naoto exclaimed, almost dropping the suitcase onto the muddy ground. The possibility of shadow activity outside the TV world _had_ occurred to her before, just not in any realistic capacity. After all, the group had escaped shadow attacks before by jumping out of the TV, and hadn't been followed. "What are you saying Ito-san? Do you know something?"

"I'm just saying you can't be too careful, that's all."

Her eyes darted away, and a look of concern darkened her features.

"Just think of it as a worst case scenario precaution." Ito's voice softened a bit, as if to lessen the implications of what he just said. He then leaned back onto the van and folded his arms. "But with all that out of the way, detective Shirogane, do you have any new information for us? Particularly about a certain high school out-of-towner named Narukami, Yu?"

She couldn't bring herself to look up at him, instead preferring to stare at the mud and sigh. "Unfortunately, I do not have his medical records yet. I can't speculate as to what his after school activities are, either. Besides working part-time and spending time with classmates, he has little left in his day for unaccounted activities. Furthermore, there hasn't been much chance to observe him in the TV world." Why did she feel like such a stalker when she reported all this? It was obvious he was hiding something, but how did they know that? Did they have more information than her? Those simultaneous feelings of guilt and disappointment with herself crawled back to the surface, causing her to tighten her grip on the suitcase.

She heard Abe chuckle and tore her eyes from the ground to send him a glare that said 'are you amused?' She continued, "I will obtain them soon. You have my word."

"I know you're good for it, detective." Ito smiled. "If you're convinced the boy's hiding something, we're on the right track. Just keep your nose to the ground and this case will be closed in no time."

"Understood."

"Good. When you have the file, give me a call and I'll meet you here at the contact point. That's all we've got. You're dismissed, detective."

Naoto nodded, pulled up the collar of her jacket with her umbrella hand, turned, and started to walk out of the clearing. She only made it a few feet before a thought suddenly occurred to her and she stopped. It was about the detective game. The hunt for clues, the person 'watching' them. For some reason she felt compelled to ask… "Ito-san…" She called back. The older detective raised his head and lifted his eyebrows. "Have you… been in contact with my grandfather since he put us in touch?"

Ito glanced to his left at Abe, who looked back at Ito, confused at the question. Ito responded, "I'm afraid I haven't, Shirogane. Why do you ask?"

"Well…" She paused and cleared her throat. "It's… nothing. Never mind. Until next time." The mud below her feet made a loud squishing noise as she spun on her heel, and continued towards the path back to the school.

The rain was picking up again. Soft droplets became a loud, heavy banging on the roof of the black van. It was only 5pm but the cloudy sky was getting dark. Abe watched the small detective disappear into the woods, then looked over at his employer. "What was _that_ about?"

"Don't worry about it," Ito said assuredly, and then walked over to the driver's side door of the van. "It's getting dark, and I'm going home."

Abe scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Roger that. I'll be here setting up."

The van started its engine. Ito rolled down the window and called out to Abe. "Make sure you keep a close eye on the subject. And let me know if and when he makes his next move."

"Got it. Anything else, old man?"

"Yes. Try showing some respect for you elders." Ito winked at him before rolling up the window and driving slowly away down the muddy road north of the station.

* * *

**November 5****th****, Evening**

The rain stopped, and fog covered the town once again. Yu sat in his room on the floor, his back against the couch, legs stretched out towards the TV. He was rubbing his eyes vigorously, trying to force himself to stay awake. The lack of sleep was catching up to him in a big way, and in the absence of stimuli to keep his mind engaged he felt himself struggling not to succumb. After seeing a child's image on the midnight channel two nights ago, he decided to play hooky and skip school to watch over his little cousin. It was his intention to keep an eye on her the whole time, but of course she had to go to school as well, and had no reason not to. Protesting that fact would only lead to suspicion from his Uncle. Still, he felt he had more control over the situation if he was at the house, whether Nanako was with him or not.

The days had gone by slowly. Yu kept himself occupied by reading a book, folding some origami cranes, and getting prepped to cook dinner for Nanako when she got home. All the while he left the weather report on in the background and kept a close eye on the clock. On the first day the skies were clear, but the forecast predicted rain on the following days, and sure enough the clouds that had been gathering all day Friday finally sent a cold, steady shower pouring down starting in the morning on Saturday.

It was around two in the afternoon on Friday when he noticed the letter. He wasn't sure when it had gotten there, it had just… shown up, quite mysteriously. It looked to have been dropped through the mail slot while Yu had been upstairs. Or maybe it was while he was in the living room, and he just didn't hear it? Regardless, this one had something written on the outside: "Mr. Yu Narukami." There was no return address. With clammy, nervous hands he'd picked it up and opened it, and removed the piece of paper inside, resisting the urge to just shred it and save himself the stress. On the letter there was a sentence written in black pen, with messy, rushed handwriting. Perhaps it should have come as little surprise… "If you don't stop, someone close to you will die." That was all. There was little doubt in his mind, now. The child on the television screen last night was probably Nanako.

He called her school, immediately, to see if she was still there. Thankfully, when asked, her homeroom teacher was called and confirmed her attendance. Later, she came home and he cooked dinner for her. Dojima arrived soon after and the three of them sat in front of the TV for a bit. At one point Dojima asked if everything was alright, and that Yu still looked fairly ill. Yu lied and said everything was fine, but meanwhile his heart was beating rapidly in his chest, and he couldn't seem to stop sweating. That night he read the letter again, and with the sentence sufficiently burned into his psyche, he laid down for another night of restless tossing and turning until morning.

On Saturday some of his friends called, worried that he had come down with something serious. Yosuke, Rise, Kanji, and Teddie all called at different times; Chie, Kou and Yukiko all left him concerned texts. He told them all he was just under the weather and getting some rest. The only person he didn't hear from was Naoto, but he wasn't too surprised by that. He spent the rest of the day in a similar manner as the last, cooking for Nanako, and conversing briefly with her and Dojima after he arrived home late yet again. After finishing his leftovers, his Uncle put Nanako to bed and told Yu he had to return to the office for a late night response. The rain had subsided. Yu listened as the sound of his Uncle's tires rolling across rainy asphalt faded away, then made his way up to his room.

Resting his chin on his knees, he stared at his reflection in the blank TV screen. The room was silent except for the consistent buzzing from the telephone wires just outside the window, that irritating noise that he often had to mask by turning on a fan when he slept. The fog outside was thick, and it dispersed the light from the streetlamps outside so that a dim yellow hue crept in from behind the curtains, giving the room an unsettling appearance. Yu was tired, but he knew he couldn't fall asleep yet. It was minutes to midnight, and he was unable to find something to pass the time. He couldn't think about anything else. Instead he just stared at himself reflected in the blank screen, noticing just how tired he looked. Also, was it just him, or did his reflection look particularly clear despite the dim lighting in his room? "_Weird…"_

He stared a bit longer. Too long, perhaps, since at one point he imagined two dim points of yellow light in the reflection where his eyes should be. It was strange… He smiled broadly, or at least it appeared that he did. It wasn't clear if he was the one smiling, or if it was just his reflection. Christ, was he hallucinating already? Knowing he had to stay up long enough to catch the midnight channel, and the very real feeling that it could indeed be Nanako who would be targeted next had kept him awake for two nights. He squeezed his eyelids shut and rubbed at his sockets with his fingers, causing a veiny pattern of color to emerge when he opened them. Blinking and refocusing on the screen, his reflection came into focus and appeared normal again.

"_There's no way I can sleep yet. I have to be sure…"_

But what then? If Nanako was the one who showed up, clearer this time, would he be able to sleep then? Definitely not. In any other situation he would tell Yosuke or the others to go to bed, rest up and go about your day normally, that it would be wise to be better prepared to fight… But he didn't think he could do that. Not if it really was Nanako.

"_You'll just have to push through it. Don't worry; you'll rise to the occasion. You always do…"_

A screech of broadcast noise caused him to jump in alarm. The room was suddenly lit by a green glow from the TV, and Yu had to squint and turn his head for a moment as his eyes were assaulted by this new light source. As they adjusted, he stood up and walked slowly closer, not entirely sure he wanted a glimpse of what was there.

Between the jagged bars of distortion passing over the frame, the figure appeared again. He saw it and immediately his heart sank; it was what he feared yet somehow expected. The silhouette was clearer than last time, and the outline of a little girl was hard to mistake. The plain dress with a turtleneck underneath, the round, heart-shaped face, the short little pigtails poking out just below the ears. Although her features were obscured by static and shadow, this person was undoubtedly Nanako Dojima. He stared bleary-eyed and dumbstruck for a few more moments until the squealing noise cut off and the room was returned to darkness.

Yu barely had time to slump back into the couch and bury his head in his hands before his cellphone vibrated loudly on the table. He collected himself and picked it up.

"Yu! It's-"

"I know."

"This is bad," Yosuke said, "What are we going to do? Is she there?"

"Yeah. She's downstairs sleeping."

"Oh man, oh Christ…" The boy on the phone breathed heavily into the receiver for a few seconds before Yu told him to calm down.

He sighed. "You're right, we can't freak out about this. Actually…" He paused and took a moment to choose his words, "This may be one of those occasions where the midnight channel works to our advantage."

"You mean being able to stop the kidnapping this time?" Yu asked.

"Yeah. The target happens to be your cousin, and you even live in the same house! We can protect her! I'm sure the rest of the team saw it; we'll come over and post up. We can keep her home from school, we'll have our eyes on her 24/7,we'll take shifts—"

"No— Having us all around and keeping her home from school will make my uncle suspicious. The last thing we need is Dojima finding out about all this. He'll think we're crazy, he'll keep us away from her."

"But that's alright if it means he'll keep an eye on her, isn't it? Even if what we tell him sounds insane there's no way he'd ignore the fact that his daughter could be in danger!"

"And what if something actually happens? What then? Dojima will have us under surveillance, he'll be watching us like a hawk and we'd be stuck, unable to rescue her or anyone else! Look, the killer might have methods that the police wouldn't see coming… Whoever it is has access to the TV world too, remember? For all we know we're dealing with something supernatural, undetectable by the cops."

Yosuke was silent as the thought sank in.

"I'll watch her. I'm her big bro, I'll take care of her."

"All by yourself? I admire your courage man, but… Dude have you even been sleeping lately? You sound awful."

"Don't worry about me," Yu assured, "Just keep the others in the loop. I won't let anyone take her."

"Got it. Be careful, partner. You know we'd all be screwed if something happened to you."

"Yeah. I will." He hung up.

He made his way quietly out of his room and down the stairs, then slowly slid open the door to his cousin's room, careful not to wake her. Inside, the dim light from the street lamps made lines across the floor through her shades, and crossed the sheets of her bed on the opposite wall. He could make out her tiny frame taking up only a fraction of the length of the mattress, and the slow rise and fall of her shoulders as she slept soundly. Stepping lightly, he moved inside and slid the door shut behind him, then crept over to the corner opposite where she was sleeping. Here, he sat on the floor and leaned his back against the wall, breathing a sigh of relief that she was in her bed, safe for the time being.

He felt his phone vibrate briefly in his pocket and immediately looked up, afraid that the sound would have woken Nanako. Her breathing stopped momentarily, and she closed her mouth to swallow before making an odd noise through her nose and shifting to face the opposite wall. Then, she was still. Yu removed his phone from his pocket and glanced down at the screen. He was expecting one of the others to message him; Chie freaking out, or Rise acting like an overbearing mother. To his surprise, it was a text message from Naoto.

"Senpai, if you notice anything suspicious, call immediately. I won't hesitate to assist you."

The phone switched off, and Yu returned it to his pocket. Despite the friction between them the other day, Naoto remained a solid ally. It was true they both withheld secrets from each other and the rest of the group, but perhaps, in a strange way, this commonality brought them a bit closer to each other than they were before. It remained to be seen whether the detective was completely trustworthy, but from talking to her time and again Yu got the feeling that she had a strong sense of justice, and truly meant well. He smiled, and rested his chin on his arms as they held his knees to his chest. Well, it was good to know that she was concerned about him, anyway.

A rustle came from the bed, and he heard the little girl take in a sharp breath. Her silhouette moved slightly, and as she breathed out again, he could hear her voice barely above a whisper, in a sad, longing tone call out, "Mommy…?" before her breathing evened out again, and she returned to a deep sleep. Yu eyed her, intense emotion welling up in his chest. Yosuke had it wrong, he thought. It wasn't their job to protect her. It was _his._It was always his. And as long as it was up to him he wouldn't ever leave her side, wouldn't _sleep_ until he caught the bastard and put an end to all this, for Nanako's sake. But then again, what could one ordinary teenager really do?

Yu lifted a hand in the dark, and held it up in front of him, fingers spread, palm facing the ceiling. "Persona…" He whispered, and then closed it into a fist. Of course, he didn't expect anything to happen. Nothing _could_ happen here, it only worked in the TV world, but oh, how he wished it were different. Maybe then he wouldn't feel so helpless. He smirked, and chuckled through his nose, amused at the absurdity of it all. Then, a thought crossed his mind, one that often did in times like these.

"_What would Dad do?_"

* * *

**Every so often I like to end a chapter on a whisper instead of a bang. Too many bangs, not enough whispers, ya know?**

**\- Dane Namor: Thank you for the stellar review! I agreed with you so hard that I had to pull the chapter and do some re-writing. Usually I'll sit on a chapter for a few days before pushing it out, but this time I didn't and I suppose the story suffered for it.**

**For those of you reading this for the first time, let me explain what happened: Initially, after Yu saw who he believed to be his little cousin on the TV, he stayed home from school and didn't sleep for a night before the second round of the midnight channel. The next night he stayed up and waited for midnight, and in his fatigue had a brief vision of his shadow. Then, like a burnt-out junkie, he passed out and had a vivid dream, completely missing the moment he was trying to stay up for and waking up just as the delivery man was scooting off with Nanako. Yeah... **

**Dane then wrote an awesome review (that was also very flattering) that rightfully called out my bullshit.**

**I'd like to blame it on the fact the Nanako's kidnapping wasn't ground I particularly wanted to retread and it was her subsequent rescue that was more important to the story I wanted to tell. But that just doesn't excuse lazy writing.**

**So, I hope you guys enjoy the revised chapter, I think it is much better now myself. And Dane Namor, I hope you will keep reading, and possibly write more awesome reviews like that for the coming chapters. Same goes for everyone else who reads this... Thanks guys!**

**As always, R&amp;R! Read and Review!**


	8. After School Special, part one

**November 6****th****, Past Midnight**

"This is Shirogane." The man on the other line answered in a dry, stoic tone.

"Grandpa…"

"Naoto…" The voice softened a bit when he realized who had called. "It's late, what on earth made you call at this hour?"

Naoto sat on her bed, her back against the wall, peering out the window at the swirling fog. What compelled her to call? It wasn't something she could put into words for her grandfather, but the appearance of Yu's little cousin on the midnight channel shook her. It made sense, in hindsight. Nanako's voice could be heard earlier this week on television, responding to an interviewer asking elementary school children about the increase of fog in their town. It fit the pattern of previous victims, if in a slightly different way—It had just never occurred to Naoto that _hearing_ the person on TV would be enough…

Regardless, realizing that someone precious to Yu was in danger painted her mind with another layer of guilt, so with a conflicted conscience she turned to someone who truly understood her. "I just wanted to check in… I haven't contacted you in a while so…"

"Is something wrong? For God's sake Naoto, it's after midnight! You're lucky I'm a bit of an insomniac!" he scolded, but ended the sentence with a slight chuckle.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep either, you see…"

"Well, talk to me, my little sleuth. How are you? How are you fitting in at school?"

"Please don't call me that, Grandpa," she sighed. Strangely, it sounded like her grandfather wanted to talk, which was rare enough when it wasn't the middle of the night. Naoto appreciated it though, as she felt sleep was still quite a ways off. "I'm fine, school is fine. Everyone is now aware of my gender, but so far the issues regarding it have been minimal."

"That's good to hear. And what about your case with Ito-san?"

"That's… fine, I mean… It's fine as well. No problems."

"I see…" He trailed off, sounding somewhat unconvinced.

Naoto hesitated. Holding the phone against her ear with her shoulder, she pulled her knees into her chest and looked away from the window and over towards Yu's wooden katana, which was propped up in the corner near the door. She had decided it was a perfect object to hang her cap on, as it was fairly useless otherwise, and she did so every night when she came home. "Actually, grandpa, there's something I'd like to ask your advice about, if you don't mind."

"About the case? I'm afraid I'm not personally involved so I don't—"

"About Ito-san."

There was a brief silence before he spoke again. "Ah, about Ito-san? Did we not have this conversation before?"

"Yes, well… That's true." She swallowed, a bit unsure of where to start. "I guess I just wanted to know… If I were doing things for the right reasons."

"The right reasons?"

"Yes, that or placing my trust in the right people."

The phone was quiet, and Naoto could almost see her grandfather placing his thumb and forefinger on his chin as he thought. "Naoto, perhaps I am just sleepless, but this phone call seems like a déjà vu," he finally said. "You sound stressed. What's really on your mind?"

"_I suppose I could just tell him…" _She breathed out through her nose and turned her gaze back to the foggy streetlights outside. "Grandpa, the investigation involves certain people whom I would consider friends…"

"Hmm…" He responded in a gravely mumble, "Your friends. I see…"

"Well, I've only known them a short while. But they don't know about the case I'm on, and of course I can't tell them. However, I believe they are in over their heads…" she tried, but her words failed to convey her true predicament. She couldn't bring herself to divulge everything, even to her grandfather. "Maybe I'm just asking for a bit of advice, reassurance that this case won't cause me to lose them."

"I'm glad to hear that you've finally met people who are important to you, Naoto," The elder Shirogane responded, "My advice, then, would be to do what it takes to protect them. Whether they are your friends or civilians, it is your duty as a Shirogane to do so. There's a reason why we are detectives, why we work tirelessly to put criminals behind bars. This job you do, it's necessary. It's no game."

"Yes, of course not, I know."

"Trust your own judgement, and when you find yourself faltering in your investigation, always remember this fact, and be sure to protect the people you care about. It's in your best interest to do so."

It was strange, but she thought she heard her grandfather choke a little on those last words. She tensed her jaw. "_He's probably thinking about mother and father…"_

"I understand," she said. He was right, of course, if a little vague. She had people she needed to protect, whether they knew it or not. Getting rid of the midnight channel and the apparitions within the TV would be the surest way to do that. Still, something gnawed at her…

Her grandfather responded, as if reading her thoughts. "He's always been a cocky one, whether or not it was justified. But Ito-san is a good man, deep down. He, too, knows what it means to protect those he cares about."

Naoto said nothing, just nodded absently. "It's getting late, Grandpa. I should let you go. Sorry for calling you like this."

"Not at all, my dear," he said. "It's good to hear your voice again. Remember what I told you, and never forget to pay attention to the smallest details. There's always something you might overlook, or maybe over_hear_—"

_BEEP BEEP! _His voice was cut off by her cellphone signaling an incoming call. She pulled it away and glanced down at the screen. "Incoming call from Yosuke-senpai…" Eyes growing wide, she brought the phone back up to her ear and spoke hurriedly, "Grandpa! I have to take this call! I'm sorry, I'll call you again later!"

Her grandfather bid her a quick farewell and the call ended. Yosuke's heavy breathing replaced the brief moment of silence that followed. "Hello? Naoto-kun?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"It's Nanako-chan… she… she…" His labored breaths told her he had just been running quite a distance. "She's gone!"

* * *

Yu's eyes snapped open, and he took in a sharp breath of air. He'd been in a deep sleep from the exact moment his head touched the couch's throw pillow. He found himself in his living room, remembering he had moved here after leaving Nanako's room in order to avoid any awkwardness when Dojima inevitably came home and checked on her. This way, if he asked, Yu could explain that he fell asleep while watching TV, letting the auto-timer switch it off later.

He slowly lifted himself to a sitting position and gazed around the house for a clock, before remembering he had a cellphone and bringing it out to check the time. 4:30 am. He'd barely slept for three and a half, maybe four hours. So what woke him up? He remembered it was a sound. It was faint, but in the near-silent nights in Inaba even a slight disturbance could be a major nuisance. It sounded like… paper. Like the dry sliding soundof an envelope pushed carefully through the mail slot. When he took another look at the front door, sure enough, there it was. A plain white envelope, unmarked, sitting on the floor. Yu suddenly felt very cold.

Hoping that perhaps this was some kind of vivid dream, he was preparing to shut his eyes again when he heard a single loud _KNOCK_ on the front door, causing him to jump up in alarm. Another one came, and then another. Three slow knocks, each one echoing in his sleep-clouded mind. For a moment he just stood there, not sure what to. Did Dojima come home? Could he hear this? Could Nanako?

He stepped carefully around the table and past the kitchen, where he grabbed the only thing he could think of using as a weapon, a dirty pot from a stack of dishes in the sink. A risky move, for sure. What if this person had a gun? There was little time for planning at this point, though. Yu supposed he could surprise the culprit by tearing open the door and planting stainless steel onto his unsuspecting forehead. However, Yu knew from fighting shadows that many times your first idea wasn't your best.

A sound… The creaking of a wooden floorboard under his weight. "_Damn! Keep quiet!" _It was small, maybe not enough to hear from the other side of the door. Nonetheless, He heard the audible scrape of shoes on pavement, then the sound of footsteps starting and growing quieter. His mind raced. What now? Should he run upstairs, see if Dojima was here, and wake him up? No, he didn't have time to explain the situation before the culprit got away. _It was all up to him now…_

Yu slid the front door open. The fog was still here, dense and accentuated by a silent drizzle. There was a figure of a man, obscured by the mist, walking briskly down the road. "Hey!" Yu called out, hoping the man would pause and glance back in alarm. Instead, he continued at the same pace, neither slowing nor accelerating his footsteps at the sound of Yu's voice. It was like he didn't even hear him… Gripping the handle of the pot tighter, he stepped onto the street and took chase, walking slightly faster than the man ahead, but not running. He was afraid if he did, the man would simply bolt away. The closer he got, the more he could make out through the fog. The man was of average height, slightly hunched, dark hair under a mint green cap. He wore a similarly colored jacket and dark pants. His feet made a scuffling sound when he walked, the sole of a leather dress shoe hitting the pavement. Yu waited until he was close enough, then moved the pot behind his back and called out again. "Hey, you! Stop!"

This time, the man began to walk faster, and lifted a hand up to pull the bill of his cap down over his face. His hands in his pockets, the echo of his leather shoes quickened, and Yu saw that he was increasing the distance. It struck Yu just how _calm_ the man was acting. Yes, he knew that he was being followed, but it barely seemed to faze him. _"What the hell…" _He watched as his target slowly began to fade into a silhouette, then started into a jog. Just a little further and maybe he could tackle the guy. The fog grew thicker… Shapes were difficult to make out. The figure of the man became so obscured, that at one point it looked to Yu that he had stopped, and was turned around, waiting for him. It wasn't clear, but Yu thought he could see his eyes, taunting and yellow. No, it couldn't be. His mind was just playing tricks on him in this fog. He hadn't been sleeping enough, he was delusional.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the deafening sound of a blaring car horn pierced his eardrums, causing him to jolt in surprise and stumble forward. His hands came up to his ears instinctually, and he whipped his head around to see a large truck barreling towards him from behind, headlights like two monstrous eyes glaring through the mist. His instincts took over and he reacted quickly, throwing himself against the concrete wall at the side of the road with a painful THUD, the pot he was holding clattering to the pavement. A blast of hot air and a wave of water covered him as the truck rattled by. Yu could see the tarp covering the trailer was a familiar shade of green… A delivery truck? The back of the trailer had been closed rather sloppily, the cover was loose, exposing a bit of what was inside. Light from a streetlamp caught something shiny within… Something big and reflective, like the screen of a television…

Dazed, Yu stood up and watched the delivery truck turn the corner and disappear into the fog. It had come from the opposite direction he had been pursuing the culprit, and it seemed to be in a hurry. A sickly feeling grew in the pit of his stomach. Something wasn't right here…

The fog seemed thicker than ever. He could only make out outlines of buildings lining the road nearby. The culprit's footsteps were silent, and he was nowhere to be seen. _"This isn't good…" _

Breathing stung his ribcage; he'd hit that wall a little too hard. Clutching at his side he began to jog back to his Uncle's house, ignoring the pot left behind on the ground. _"That truck… it came from this direction. Maybe it was my imagination, but I could swear I saw a TV in there." _He clenched his teeth together and started to run, the cold mist causing him to squint his eyes, which made seeing even more difficult.

_ "It's fine, it was just a delivery truck, getting started early," _he thought to himself as Dojima's house came into sight._ "I chased the culprit away. Nanako is safe." _The door was slightly ajar, and Yu couldn't remember if he left it that way or not. He slid it open and ran inside, not caring how much noise he made. _"She's probably awake now, wondering what all the commotion is. Dojima's probably in a sour mood if he's here, ready to give me a scolding. It's alright, I can make something up." _He rounded the corner to his little cousin's room, the beating of his heart overwhelming his hearing. _"When I open the door to her room she'll be sitting up, looking worried and probably scared. But that's ok, because she'll be here, she'll be safe…" _He grasped the handle, and after a shaky intake of breath pulled it open and stepped inside…

Soon afterwards, at a familiar table at Junes surrounded by the rest of his friends in the investigation team, he would open the envelope and read the letter contained inside. "I tried to warn you."

* * *

Yosuke pulled his headphones off, his personal 'shadow stomping mix' becoming drowned out by the ugly bubbling drone coming from the ground ahead where several dark cracks split the earth and moved towards him at dizzying speed. He gripped his kunai tighter and readied himself. "More coming!" he shouted to the rest of the team, and then glanced over at the silver haired boy to his right. "More than the last wave… any bright ideas?"

Yu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and brought his katana down to his side. He didn't answer. The cracks in the ground looked like they would overtake them, but instead they split and snaked around their feet, forming circles around Yu and Yosuke, Naoto and Yukiko, Chie and Kanji, Teddie and Rise. Once the group had been effectively walled off from each other, black figures began rising from the ground, making horrible gurgling noises that accompanied what sounded like a murmuring whisper. Yosuke backed up a little until he bumped into Yu's shoulder. "Damn, we're surrounded! Should've thought faster…" The shadows rose until they finally detached from the ground, like upside-down drops of water. Massive wings sprouted from their sides, their bodies taking the form of giant birds of prey with human faces, crown-shaped masks covering their features. They began to circle the two like hungry vultures eyeing a fresh meal.

"This isn't good…" Yosuke muttered, "My persona's going to have trouble against flying shadows. What about you? Got anything useful in that arsenal of yours?"

"Physical attacks will work… I'm sure of it."

"So we should just beat on 'em with our weapons? Dude, maybe _you're _that confident in your sword-fighting skills, but—"

"Wind can't hurt them, right?" Yu interrupted.

"Right, but still, what you're suggesting is suicide!"

"But it can still move them. Try catching them all in a twister, it may not damage them but it might kick them out of formation."

The shadows banked and descended on them, talons bared, diving in a circular motion that made it impossible to land a targeted attack. Yosuke flinched, realizing they were out of options. "Ok fine. But you'd better have something to back me up with or this is just going to piss them off! Jiraiya!" A card appeared in front of him, blue and translucent like a hologram projected out from within his mind. He slashed at it with one of his blades and it broke, exploding into shards surrounded by blue flames. A being emerged out of the flames, translucent and bordered by fog. His persona, the living manifestation of his personality burst into existence. It rose up, its red scarf blowing in the wind created by the two spinning pinwheels on its hands. As the vultures grew closer, Jiraiya lifted his palms to the sky, causing a massive cyclone to form, catching the birds inside and pushing them back up. Their momentum caused them to crash into each other, and they let out a screeching cry as they became a spinning mass of feathers.

Yu took this as his cue and produced a card of his own, before lifting his hand up and crushing it between his fingers. "Now, Izanagi!" Another figure emerged, this one clad in a black trenchcoat and a silver mask. As the cyclone subsided, the shadow birds fell towards the ground, tangled amongst each other. Izanagi leapt up, and with a swipe of his massive polearm caught the shadows all at once in its blade. Black blood sprayed out, and the creatures howled before dissipating into whirling, smoky clouds.

"Nice!" Yosuke grinned. "That was too easy!"

"Don't celebrate yet," Yu said, Izanagi landing behind him gracefully, the long tails of his white headband trailing behind. "Let's split up and help the others."

Meanwhile, Naoto fired her revolver relentlessly into the heart of an oncoming giant with no avail. She soon heard the '_click' _of an empty chamber, and dove out of the way as the creature's fist slammed the ground where she had been. She couldn't escape the shockwave that followed, and let out a sharp cry as her body was thrust against the wall beside her. The creature, a white muscular ogre wearing a blue mask, turned and raised its fist again for the finishing blow. Suddenly, it was engulfed in flame and doubled over, producing a guttural roar as it stumbled past Naoto and plummeted over the wall into the blue sky below. "It appears fire is the monster's weakness…" She grunted, pushing herself to her feet. "I must get better at this."

"You haven't had much time to get used to your persona," Yukiko spoke softly, an understanding tone to her voice.

A wave of light washed over Naoto and she felt herself rejuvenate, the aching in her back subsiding. Yukiko's persona, Konohana Sakuya, stood behind the girl, her arms held up, an adornment of pink petal-like ribbons framing her body from wrist to wrist.

"I can do it… I just need to focus for a second." Naoto flipped open the cylinder to her colt revolver and began reloading.

"There isn't much time for that," Yukiko said as her persona waved its arm in the direction of another oncoming giant, covering it in an explosion of fire. To her surprise, it kept running towards her, seemingly unfazed. She cried out in alarm as Konohana leapt forward to protect the girl with her body. The giant roared, still wrapped in flames, and prepared to throw a deadly strike when a small figure whizzed by, slicing the shadow's face with its stinger-like sword.

Sukuna-Hikona was extremely agile, too fast for the lumbering beast. The creature bellowed and began waving its arms, trying to snatch the tiny persona out of the air, but with a flick of his butterfly wings, the childlike being easily dodged out of range. The giant stumbled.

"Then let me show you… Now!" Naoto shouted, and the gigas roared, bombarded by a torrent of ice. Its limbs froze and shattered, and soon its whole body crumbled and dissolved into fog.

Yukiko looked over at Naoto in amazement. "You did it Naoto-kun! How did you know?"

The detective adjusted her glasses. "They were brothers; opposites. At least, that's what I assumed…"

The rest of the group had the shadows cornered. Yosuke stood next to Chie and Kanji, the three of them having beaten back a group of snake forms that emerged from the ground. Yu, Teddie and Rise managed to push two masked beetles into the mix, vanquishing one with a well-placed bolt of lightning from one of Yu's personas, Thor. As Naoto and Yukiko joined the others, the shadows hissed and buzzed, realizing they were now outnumbered.

Kanji hefted his heavy iron shield up onto his shoulder. "Alright you bastards… Time to finish you off!"

"Hold it, Kanji!" Rise yelled from the back of the group. The persona Himiko's antennae were pointed at the group of shadows, her long arms holding a visor over Rise's eyes. "Those beetles are tough, you can't just attack them head on. You'll need to find a weak spot."

Kanji grumbled, not often the best at strategies that didn't involve charging in and handing out beatdowns.

Yu stepped forward. "How about this... When I give the signal, everybody charge in and start beating them down!"

"Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about!" Kanji banged on his shield with his fist.

"But I just told you—" Rise protested.

"Trust me. On my mark…" Yu lifted his hand and a card appeared. Yosuke nodded and hunkered down, his kunai at the ready. There were a lot of things Yu seemed unnaturally good at, but here in the TV world he was truly in his element. Yosuke had learned to trust his partner's intuition.

"Get set…" The boy crush the card in his fist, and out came Thor, a humanoid persona in golden armor wielding a massive hammer.

Chie stomped her foot on the ground like a wild bull getting ready to charge. Teddie grinned, a mischievous smile on his furry face, his claws held out to his sides.

"Go!" Yu shouted as Thor brought his hammer down on the ground directly in front of the group of shadows, the huge weight shaking the floor and creating a shockwave that knocked the beetles onto their backs and sent the snakes tumbling into a pile. The team rushed in, weapons lifted, shouting cries of encouragement as they closed in on the disoriented creatures for a sure win.

The black fog left over from the dying shadows dispersed, and the puddles of blood covering the ground evaporated. Yosuke let out a sigh and dropped his hands to his knees, his auburn hair damp with sweat.

Kanji threw a fist into the air. "Yeah! Cooked 'em!"

Chie, still full of energy, smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Man, that was so awesome! Did you guys see Yu-kun?" She swung her arm through the air like she was holding a sword. "Hiiiiii-yah! Killer strike! This guy moves faster than his own shadow!"

"An unfortunate connotation, Chie-senpai," Naoto responded with a smug grin, adjusting the bill of her cap.

"Quit joking around, you guys," Kanji folded his arms and glanced at Chie disapprovingly. "Senpai's little cousin is still in here somewhere."

Yu nodded appreciatively at his large underclassman, who grinned and nodded back. Then he turned to look ahead, analyzing their next move.

Yosuke lifted his head and followed Yu's gaze. They had reached the end of a long pathway, and in front of them stood a grand golden doorway, standing at least four times his height, stretching up towards a bright blue sky filled with billowing clouds. This place was like a storybook version of heaven. White staircases cris-crossed what looked like an infinite sky. Flowers bloomed from vines that wove about the marble white floors and walls. Statues of angels stood triumphantly on top of pillars that lined the paths. It was really quite beautiful, but as was the case with all of the places inside the TV, it felt almost like they were on some kind of fake set. As if it were all constructed. When Yosuke looked closely, hidden among the vines he could make out trusses that held up floodlights or TV monitors. "Do you think she's waiting behind this door?" He asked.

"I don't know," Yu replied coolly.

As if in response to Yosuke's question, a voice floated into their ears from somewhere else, distant yet all encompassing, like a sound being carried through the wind. "_Mommy… where are you?"_

Yu's head shot up in surprise.

"Nanako-chan…?" Yukiko let out after the breath had been caught in her throat.

"_Where did you go, mommy? Why did you leave us?"_

"This place…" Naoto said cautiously, "Could it be born from Nanako-chan's yearning for her lost mother?"

"The poor girl…" Rise lamented, before something caught her attention and she snapped out of her daze. "Guys, something's not right here…"

"What is it?" Yosuke asked as everyone turned to Rise expectantly.

"I'm sensing Nanako's presence just up ahead, but… There's someone else…"

"What!?" Yosuke shouted, alarmed. "Who else is here?"

"It's- I'm not sure… It's a stranger."

"_It's ok, little girl. You're safe here. I'll take you away from that evil world outside… I'll save your poor little soul!"_

They all jumped at once. "Who was _that_!?" Chie looked at Rise with fear in her eyes.

"The other presence… Could it be that _he_ came in with her?" Rise gasped. "Yu! This isn't good!"

"_It's all up to me. _I'm _the only one who can save her. Just like I saved the others!" _The voice echoed and slid past their ears on a gust of wind. It was the voice of a man, sounding quite deranged and agitated.

"_This doesn't make sense_," Yosuke thought. The culprit was being pursued by Dojima-san while the investigation team went into the TV to search for any sign of Yu's little cousin. When Rise located her, they assumed the culprit had thrown her in and made a break for it. But could he have jumped in too? Did Dojima-san find nothing but an empty truck?

Suddenly, Yu sprinted at the door, grabbed the handles and pulled with all his might. It barely budged. He tried again, slamming the handles together and wrenching outwards, shouting, "Nanako! Hold on, Nanako, I'm coming to rescue you!" His voice was strained, ragged with desperation. "God dammit, let me through!"

Yosuke winced. It wasn't often that Yu lost it like this. He could feel his pain. He watched as his partner struggled a bit more, then kicked the door in frustration. The door rattled again, a bit louder than before. Only this time, it wasn't Yu pulling at the handle. The door shook harder. It looked like something was trying to get out…

"Uh oh…" he heard Teddie whisper.

"Senpai, Get back! There are shadows behind that door! Lots of them!" Rise called out.

Yu stumbled backwards and gazed up at the door in confusion, as it continued to rattle and heave. A dark, shadowy arm forced its way through the small opening. Gurgling, whispering voices drifted out from the crack, as more arms pushed their way out. The shaking grew more intense. A black mass could now be seen on the other side, masked faces with empty eyes peered out, piled against the other side from bottom to top.

"Oh man…" Yosuke said aloud. There were a lot of shadows, and with the realization that the killer might be inside with Nanako, he knew that time was running out. Judging by the worried expression on Yu's face, his partner was thinking the same thing.

"Alright!" Yu shouted, "We'll split up into groups. I'll take front and center, try to split them to one side or another. Kanji, you're to my left, Chie, to the right. You guys hit them hard, send them through if you get overwhelmed. Teddie, you're behind Kanji, Yosuke, you're behind Chie. Blast them with your personas and if you get any strays, finish them off. Yukiko, you're in the back throwing fire and healing. Naoto—Stay with Yukiko and pick out the enemies' weaknesses. Everyone clear?" They all nodded. "Ok, let's form up!"

No one questioned Yu at that moment, they all ran over to their positions like a soccer team taking the field. Rise took her usual spot away from the front lines, as her persona was best suited for analyzing and support. Yu pushed his glasses back into place and lowered his katana in front of his body. "Get ready," he said.

The tension mounted as everyone held their breath, listening to the door rattle and creak, waiting for the shadows to come. It was only one or two more pushes before the door finally gave way, the heavy hinges moaned and the sides burst open. There was a collective gasp… Where there once was a door was now a wall of darkness. Squirming, vicious bodies writhed and grasped at the air with their skinny arms. The mass seemed to be suspended for a moment, but soon the levee broke and the creatures tumbled out onto the ground, crawling over each other, reaching for the intruders.

Yu acted first, crushing a card in his hand and summoning a giant red armor clad warrior with blonde hair, who swung his broadsword down the middle of the mass of shadows, destroying a small number in the line of fire, and pushing the others to either side. Kanji roared and started bashing the ones that came his way with his shield after summoning his persona, Take-Mikazuchi, who slashed out with his lightning bolt shaped weapon. Chie brought out Tomoe Gozen, and with its double-sided blade it began swiping relentlessly at the enemy.

Yosuke watched in horror as the three on the front line were quickly overwhelmed, only able to focus on so many shadows at a time before it looked like they were in danger. He summoned Jiraiya, sending a gust of wind in Chie's direction to knock some of the creatures off of her back. As expected, they came rushing after him. "Come on, you slimy bastards!" He shouted, then dodged out of the way as a shadow in the form of a spiked wheel tried to run him over. "Ha! Too slow!" Jiraiya retaliated, cutting the beast in half with its sharp pinwheels. There was no time to enjoy his victory, however. A shadow formed behind him and threw a column of flame into Jiraiya's back. Yosuke doubled over and gritted his teeth, a searing pain ripping through his torso. "Ugh…" he stumbled and turned around. "Big mistake!" His persona stood back up and created a cyclone that flung the creature, along with a few others, into the air and over the edge of the wall. More down, but that was hardly the end of them. The flood of shadows gave no sign of stopping.

A tiny blue persona raced back and forth over the chaos, picking off excess shadows with well-placed elementals. Naoto stood in front of Rise, gun drawn, firing rounds at any that approached. Rise had summoned Himiko, and was shouting out the weaknesses of any shadows within range of Naoto, who in turn directed Sukuna-Hikona to attack. The formation wasn't going to hold for long, Naoto knew. It was only a matter of time before it would be every man for himself. The shadows continued to spill out. They were running out of time.

She saw Yu, splitting the shadows once again with the persona Siegfried, looking increasingly panicked, exhausted, and impatient. He stood still for a moment, observing the fighting around him, shadows slithering past all the while. He lifted his katana and slashed the faces of two small squid-like apparitions and moved forward, Siegfried landing another heavy blow at the crowd ahead.

Then, something unexpected happened. Naoto watched as Yu slashed his way furiously towards the door, dodging attacks left and right, trying to take out as many shadows as possible. When he reached the door, he was hit. A dark claw tore into his arm, and she heard him cry out in pain and fall to the side. His persona quickly disposed of the beast, before Yu stood up again and buried himself in the mass of shadows, hacking away like he was clearing a path through a thick jungle. One by one the shadows closed in around him, and soon he disappeared.

"Yu!" She screamed, causing the others to look around frantically for their leader's presence. "For God's sake, what are you doing?"

An explosion sounded and the whole ground shook, screeches and moans could be heard coming from the other side of the door. Some of the shadows in the doorway turned, fighting their way back in towards the disturbance. Soon the flow of darkness ebbed, the near-endless wave of creatures from the doorway slowed and the last shadows clawed their way out. The team was more than fatigued by now. Yukiko had slowed her healing, while Kanji had resorted to simply punching and swinging his shield, his lightning energy exhausted. But they still fought on. Something didn't sit right with Naoto. A loud explosion followed by silence? What had Yu done on the other side? And where was he now? "Rise, can you sense Yu-senpai?"

"I can, I think…" She focused for a moment, leaning into Himiko's visor. "Got him… Huh? That idiot! He's in danger! What was he thinking, running ahead like that?"

"I'm going after him," Naoto said abruptly. "It looks like the wave of shadows is over. I trust you all can handle the rest?"

"Yeah, we should be able to. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve, anyway. Hurry, his signal is fading!"

Naoto nodded and sprinted towards the door. Sukuna-Hikona followed closely, distracting and slashing at any shadows that crossed her path.

With a fiery blast from her persona she cleared the final steps through the archway and caught her first glimpse at the other side. There was a stairway, reaching up through the clouds and engulfed by flowering, curling vines. Rays of light poured down through the sky, appearing as if God himself was watching from high above them. At the base of the stairs was a circular pathway, floating steadily in midair, with nothing but more sky below. It was here that she saw Yu, surrounded by three floating phantom-like shadows, each wearing a white cloak with a spinning lantern buried in their torsos. They were no ordinary shadows. Had they attracted the mass of creatures outside?

Whatever the explanation was, it was clear that these three were strong, and that Yu was struggling. He looked as if he could barely stand, limping backwards as the apparitions drew closer, swinging his sword in a futile attempt to fend them off. Persona notably absent, it looked like he was trying to take them on solely with his katana. Confused for a moment, she looked closer and noticed a faint green aura emanating from his body. She noticed when he breathed clouds of dark green smoke left his mouth as if his breath were condensing in cold air. Could these shadows have done something to cripple his ability to call his persona? It seemed the situation was dire.

Yu fell roughly to a knee, drops of blood spattering the ground under him. Dark green wisps of smoke floated up in front of his eyes. He couldn't think straight. Somehow he wasn't sure who he was, as if he were some strange presence inhabiting this shell of a body… It must have been some damn curse from these phantoms. The only thing that was clear to him now was that Nanako was in danger, and if he didn't act quickly, she could be dead. The phantoms closed in, singing a hollow, ominous note as their lantern light blurred and became all that he could see. He lifted his sword painfully and prepared to defend.

A shot rang out, just then. A loud, heavy THUD from what sounded like some kind of cannon. The head of the shadow closest to him exploded into particles of fog, its body was twisted and flung off to the side before hitting the ground and dissolving into the air. The other two stiffened and turned in the direction of the shot, Yu taking this moment to quickly roll to the side, out of the phantoms' range. Another chest-rattling THUD and the second phantom was hit straight through its lantern. Its body split in half and tumbled to the ground, where the pieces slowly dissipated.

Yu looked up in surprise and saw the small detective standing with her head down peering along the barrel of a pistol that had to be half the length of her arm, its silver surface shining in the bright sunlight. She brought the gun down and with considerable effort yanked back on the lower of its two hammers, and hefted it up in front of her again. The phantom was fast. Its lantern spun wildly in its chest as it flew up the path towards her, charging with some strange energy. Naoto couldn't line up her sight before a pillar of fire erupted under her feet. She dodged the attack just in time, rolled on the floor and fired back at the creature, the bullet grazing its leg. That was enough, though. The phantom's lower half immediately shattered and turned into black fog, it's torso falling to the earth, and vanishing with a ghastly shriek.

The air slowly cleared, and Yu watched from his knees as the detective let out a long breath and stood up, turning to face him. He looked up at her with a confused, cautious expression, trying to make sense of what just happened. She stared back, blue-grey eyes wide, brows pressed together in concern. For a long moment neither of them said a word, they just stood there contemplating what to say next. Then, Yu gave her a slight nod of thanks, still looking like he'd seen a ghost. She did the same, and pulled at the brim of her cap nervously as she glanced away.

"Yu-kun!" A concerned Yukiko called out. Naoto jumped in alarm and quickly stuffed the oversized pistol under her winter jacket, closing the buttons so that it couldn't be seen. A wave of light engulfed Yu's body, and the sickly green aura vanished. With his damages partly healed, he was able to push himself off the ground and to his feet.

"Are you okay?" The raven-haired girl jogged up next to the two, her persona Konohana Sakuya vanishing into the air behind her. "What happened? You had us worried sick!"

"Speak for yourself." A voice snapped from behind her, and in a flash, Yosuke ran up to Yu and planted a fist right into the boy's jaw. "You fucking asshole!" He yelled, as Yu staggered back and fell to the floor. "Why the _hell _did you run off like that? You abandoned us!"

"Cut it out, Yosuke!" Chie shouted, running up next to Yukiko.

"That was a dick move, Yu-senpai," Kanji said. "You're supposed to be our leader, and you just leave us in the dust. What's up with that?"

Yu wiped his lips and spat blood onto the ground. _"Bit my tongue... That was quite a punch." _He rose to his feet again and sighed. It was just another bruise to add to the collection. "Sorry guys…"

Teddie walked up to Yu's side with a cartoonish frown on his face, bear ears drooping to the sides. "We're all worried about Nana-chan, Sensei," he said solemnly, "But we need to stick together. Who knows what powerful shadows are up ahead?"

Yu nodded and scratched his head, looking sheepishly back over at Yosuke, who was still fuming.

"I'm with Kanji, dude. I don't know how you all can be so forgiving. That was a dick move. We were almost beaten down back there, we could have _died!" _The boy's eyes flared with genuine anger. "I get that you're worried about Nanako, we _all _are, but we want to help you, not get left behind as shadow bait!" He reached out and gave Yu a sharp push on the shoulders, making him stumble backwards a few steps.

"I'm afraid you're incorrect, Yosuke-senpai." Naoto spoke, causing Yosuke to shoot her a confused glare. "There were three strong shadows guarding the other side of the door. It appeared that they had attracted the mass of shadows we fought, and if Yu-san hadn't stopped them I'm sure they could have called more. So on the contrary, he may have in fact saved our lives."

Yosuke folded his arms and growled. "Fine. But you could have told us that, at least."

"Sorry..." Yu said, his eyes cast downward.

"Yeah, whatever... Let's not waste any more time. Nanako-chan has to be close now!"

The brown haired teen rushed ahead. The others followed after him, but not before turning to Yu and offering quick nods of encouragement. Chie and Yukiko gave him a reassuring grin, Rise smiled softly, and Kanji set his jaw forward, giving only the manliest of nods. Naoto lingered behind for a moment before starting to walk, but was stopped by the sound of Yu's voice.

"You shouldn't have covered for me like that. Yosuke was right, I messed up."

She glanced back at him, pausing to meet his eyes for a brief second. "But it was true, whether you intended it or not." Then, she turned and started walking towards the others. "We have no time to quarrel. So come on, let's go rescue Nanako."

* * *

**DOUBLE CHAPTER DROP! Next one coming tomorrow, probably.**

**A lot of POV switching in this one, something I am definitely NOT used to doing, so hopefully it isn't totally confusing. **

**-Ganheim: Thank you, thank you, thank you for that incredibly in-depth review! You raise a lot of good points, ones that I will try my hardest to address moving forward. I may go back and edit some stuff based on your notes as well, if I get a bit of free time. Cheers!**

**Thanks again for reading, please review! I'll have part two up shortly.**


	9. After School Special, part two

**November 6th, Morning**

Yosuke's calves throbbed as he pushed himself up the last set of stairs in what seemed like a never-ending climb. The clouds they were walking through parted and warm sunlight poured down, causing him to briefly shield his eyes as they adjusted to the brightness. The scenery was mesmerizing. They appeared to be on some kind of heavenly altar; a circular marble platform surrounded by white pillars wrapped in flowering vines, golden angel statues perched on top. The sky was bright blue. The clouds were thinner up here, the majority of them below and around them shining like a brilliant white sea. Catching his breath, his eyes adjusted and immediately he noticed a figure kneeling at the far edge of the platform, head down, carrying something in his arms. He was wearing a light green jacket, and on his head was a matching green cap. Realizing that they may have finally encountered the culprit, Yosuke came to a stop, breath catching in his throat, trying not to approach the individual too hastily. The others followed suit, shuffling to a halt at the top of the stairs.

Chie spoke first. "Is that… him?" She whispered.

Instead of answering, Kanji pushed past her, nostrils flaring. He was in gorilla mode, there was no point in trying to stop him. "Where's Nanako!?" He shouted, to Yosuke's dismay.

Yosuke was about to sock him in the arm when he saw the culprit whirl around, eyes bulging with fear. Sweat was pouring out from under his cap. With a squeeze of his arms, a small, painful yelp was heard, and Yosuke realized that Kanji had his answer. Struggling weakly, eyes closed tightly with her tiny hands gripping the man's forearm was Nanako Dojima. She looked tired, but was still kicking her feet furiously in the air, trying to escape the culprit's grip. Tears stained her cheeks.

From behind Kanji Yu appeared, taking a few menacing steps towards the man in the green jacket, a frighteningly calm look on his face. "Put her down," he growled, gripping his katana tightly.

"Stop!" The man yelled, "Don't come any closer!" He squeezed his grip tighter, and Nanako let out a muffled squeak as the back of her head pushed further into the man's chest.

Yu did as he was told. A hateful scowl appeared on his face.

"So… _you're _the killer!" Yosuke said, his eyes narrowed at the man in front of them accusingly. "You scum… Drop the girl now, and we'll think about giving you less of a beating before we hand your ass over to the cops!"

"No! I'm going to save this girl!" The man cried, taking a step backwards and giving the girl in his arms a violent shake.

"Wait, Yosuke-senpai!" Naoto stepped in just behind Yu. "You too, Yu-senpai… we mustn't agitate him, that won't do us, or Nanako, any favors." She then turned her attention towards the culprit. "I've seen you before. You're Taro Namatame, correct?"

Yosuke looked at the detective curiously. Did she mean Taro Namatame, the city council secretary that was all over the news months ago? The one that cheated on his wife, the famous singer? He did look oddly familiar, though his deranged expression made him harder to recognize. Mayumi Yamano, the reporter and first victim of the Inaba murders, was this man's mistress. Things were starting to come together, it seemed.

Instead of giving her a direct answer, the man gazed at the group with wide, frantic eyes. "You… you all are the ones I saved… aren't you?" His voice shook and his breaths were rapid.

"What? You call that _saving_?" Rise shouted.

"Taro Namatame, did you purposely throw people into the TV?" Naoto asked, ignoring Rise's outburst.

"They would show themselves to me on the screen, asking to be saved… and I did what I was meant to do. I am a savior!" He tightened his grip further, causing Nanako to choke.

Yu gritted his teeth and took a step forward. "Stop it, you're killing her!"

"I'm _saving_ her! Freeing her from the evil of that world, from all the death and corruption. Just like I did with your friends!"

That sickly gurgling sound emerged from the sky below, and Yosuke turned to see dark hands grasping the walls of the altar, creeping up to the platform where they stood. They had been followed. There wasn't time for this. "So let me guess, you put them in the TV to save their poor, corrupt souls, am I right? To 'cleanse' them of wrongdoing?"

"They could have _died_ in there," Yu said, "If it wasn't for our efforts—"

"Enough!" Namatame growled, his eye color shifting abruptly to a bright yellow hue. His voice seemed to grow more ominous, and sounded as if a chorus of Namatames were speaking through one mouth. "Yes, I put them into the TV. _I _brought them to this place, this beautiful _sanctuary_! You all are just trying to stop me from doing what's right… But I won't let you!"

Nanako coughed, her eyes full of fresh tears. "Can't… breathe… Big Bro…"

Yu lifted his katana behind him and planted his back foot firmly, preparing to attack. Yosuke noticed this and removed his kunai from his belt. Naoto was stalling too much. This guy was crazy, and if they didn't act now, it would be too late.

Namatame noticed their aggression and stepped further back, a foggy aura beginning to form around his body. The dark hands of the shadows emerged behind him, pulling themselves up from below and grabbing at his ankles. The man looked down and shuffled his feet frantically, trying to pull free from their grip. More and more latched on, merging themselves with his body, wriggling up inside his skin.

"What's going on?" Chie shouted, the gurgling whispering voices becoming louder and more shadows approached.

"He's attracting shadows, and lots of them!" Rise cried, "We have to get Nanako-chan out of there!"

The noises became a roar as the creatures moved into Namatame faster and faster. The man held Nanako tightly despite his body writhing in agony, as if keeping her close was his way of distracting himself from the horror. The girl's feet kicked wildly and then went limp. She'd passed out.

Yu sprang forward, katana pulled back and ready to strike. Before he could reach the culprit, however, a wave of fog exploded outwards, blowing the boy back onto the ground and causing Yosuke to fall to his knees so that he wouldn't be carried off of the edge of the platform. The mist spread and for an instant he was blinded, unable to see even with his fog-piercing lenses.

When it cleared, Namatame was no longer there. In his place was a giant floating creature in a white robe, a monstrosity created by the accumulation of too many shadows. Its face looked to have Namatame's features, and it wore a giant crimson halo made of spinning gears on its cranium. The two wings on its back fluttered rapidly, trying with some effort to keep this abomination in the air. It's head tilted and rolled with the weight of the halo, and in its right hand it held the body of an unconscious Nanako, dangling precariously between its fingers.

Yosuke sprang to his feet, an image of Jiraiya forming in his mind as he prepared for battle. This was it. Time to take this bastard down.

"Be careful, guys!" Rise called out, "He's still got Nanako-chan, so don't be reckless!"

Yu, apparently playing by his own rules, ignored Rise and charged. Was this a new plan? Yosuke quickly followed suit, not wanting to waste any time deliberating. He projected a card, attempting to invoke Jiraiya and assault the angelic Namatame, hoping to stun him so one of the others could snatch Nanako out from his grasp.

It only took a few steps before something went horribly wrong. He saw Yu stop dead in his tracks, then double over, dropping his katana and clutching his head in his hands. A strange aura emanated from the shadow's halo, and the altar was bathed in light, angel feathers drifted down from the sky. A sudden pain tightened around his skull, and he joined Yu on the ground, dropping his weapons, unable to think straight. The rest of the group seemed to be under the same stress. He heard the bang of Kanji's heavy shield as it hit the ground beside him, the tall blonde boy pushing his head into the marble floor, hands over his temples. The pain was insistent and throbbing. All Yosuke wanted more than anything was to make it go away.

A voice came to him then and echoed inside his mind. _"You won't stop me… I must do what's right!" _It sounded like Namatame… but how? How did he get inside his head? _"When this little girl showed herself on the screen, it was her cry to be saved. I was chosen to be her savior. And you all… The ones I saved before, you will become my disciples!"_

The pain disappeared. Yosuke breathed out heavily, and pushed himself to his feet. He felt woozy, unfocused. His head was cloudy. He felt himself put his kunai back into his belt, then drop his arms limply down to his sides. What was going on? Wasn't there a fight happening? He noticed the rest of the team acting similarly, weapons holstered, arms to their sides, looking like a group of zombies. Then, one by one, each of them lifted their arms out, palms turned up, until they were parallel with the floor. "W-What's… H-h-happening…" Yosuke managed to spit out, feeling as though it took every muscle in his body just to make his lips move.

Shadow Namatame gazed up at the sky, its head rolled back and its mouth dropped open as the gears in its halo began to turn faster. It raised its skinny arm forward and opened its fingers, light beginning to coalesce in its palm. It became clear that the monster was preparing to attack. Yosuke felt the need to escape, to dodge the inevitable blow, but his legs wouldn't budge. They were all sitting ducks waiting to be killed, their arms open wide as if welcoming their own defeat. All except for Yu.

The silver-haired boy was struggling valiantly. He grunted as his arms swayed back and forth, fighting against some unseen force. His hands, curled into contorted shapes, shook madly as he managed to bring one of them in front of his face. There was a blue flash, and a card appeared floating above his palm. He grit his teeth, looking as if he were summoning all of his energy at once, and with a yell smashed the card between his fingers. "Persona!"

The light left Shadow Namatame's hand, growing brighter by the second. It would have surely dealt a fatal blow had a figure not emerged from the cloud of shards and fog surrounding Yu's closed fist. The figure, silhouetted against the blinding light of Namateme's attack, sprouted wings and unfurled what looked like a scroll of some kind. The light impacted something in front of the figure then dissipated immediately. The giant shadow moaned, having been hit by the blowback of its own attack force. Yu fell to his knees with a grunt, heaving, apparently free of the monster's control. The persona floated down beside him with a flutter of its insect-like wings, green skin contrasting with a shining red jewel set into its skull. Yosuke wanted to summon Jiraiya, to stand next to his partner and help finish what he started, but he remained motionless, unable to control his own limbs.

The persona turned to face the recovering shadow, who was still holding Nanako loosely in his right hand. Yosuke then heard the strained voice of Chie behind him. "Y-Yu-kun… Look out!"

A yellow flash flew in from just outside Yosuke's peripheral vision and caught the back of the persona's head with a roundhouse kick. The creature wailed as its face contacted the ground below, scroll clattering against the marble floor. Its wings beat madly as it writhed in pain. Yu let out a yell and covered the base of his neck with his hands.

"_I am only trying to protect her from evil… Why must you stand in my way?" _The voice boomed.

Tomoe Gozen straightened and spun her double-bladed staff into position just behind her back, waiting for Yu's persona to recover so it could land a second strike. Take-Mikazuchi wasn't so merciful. The jet black behemoth jumped in and impaled the prone figure with his bolt-shaped blade, causing screams of agony from Yu as he clutched his side, his persona vanishing in a wave of static and fog. Yosuke glanced over and saw Kanji with a look of horror on his face. Behind him stood Yukiko, a blue card hovering just over her outstretched fingers, wearing a similar frightened expression.

Yu rolled out of the way just before Tomoe Gozen brought her heel down on his back, slid to a stop and projected another card. This time a large human-like persona sitting cross-legged emerged, shining silver, poised, its body surrounded by multiple floating swords. It crossed blades with Tomoe Gozen, and the two personas began to duel. Take-Mikazuchi turned and lumbered over to join the fight.

Yu picked up his katana and used the distraction to make his way over towards Shadow Namatame, who was watching from the other end of the platform. "Nanako! I'm coming, Nanako, just hang in there!"

_"It's dangerous outside… She has to stay here, with me. Your friend doesn't understand…"_

Fire erupted in Yu's path and he stumbled backwards, barely avoiding the flames. Konohana Sakuya lifted a white, flower-adorned glove and prepared to attack once more. Before she could, a heavy sword drove itself through her shoulder. The silver persona had attacked from behind, throwing a number of blades out at the other personas. Tomoe Gozen and Konohana were down, and Yosuke heard Yukiko and Chie's cries of pain behind him.

This was madness. They were being forced to use their personas against Yu, and all they could do was watch as he inevitably would tire out and die from their onslaught. It didn't matter how many different personas he had. He could only summon one at a time. It wouldn't take long to overwhelm him. Take-Mikazuchi, who deflected the silver persona's attack, reached out and sent a crackling bolt of electricity into his assailant. Yu, and his persona, crumpled to the ground.

Yosuke watched as Yu rolled onto his hands and knees and coughed. "C'mon you guys… back off…" he pleaded.

_"I was empty. I didn't know what to do… Then I saw the Midnight Channel, and that girl appeared, just like Mayumi, just like the other. It all became clear then…"_

Yosuke felt a jolt as his arm moved on its own accord, his muscles contracting in bursts until his hand came to a stop in front of his face.

_"I had to do something. I had to save her from her painful existence, from her ultimate fate…"_

A card was projected, spinning, glowing a cool blue. _"No…" _Yosuke thought, _"Not Jiraiya, don't take Jiraiya!"_

_ "…So I did it. I put her in the TV, just as I would with all of your friends, and this precious little girl. I wanted to protect her."_

'Protect' her? With a shattering sound, the card was broken and Jiraiya was released into the air, his pinwheels spinning and his brilliant red scarf flowing playfully behind. Yosuke managed to force his voice to speak, "Yu! Run, man, get out of there!"

His words fell on deaf ears. His partner summoned yet another persona, the same armor-clad giant wielding the deadly hammer he used to finish the shadows earlier, and it was busy fending off Take-Mikazuchi's blows and dodging Konohana Sakuya's fire. A burst of wind from Jiraiya's hands sent the boy flying. He landed hard on the ground, expelling air from his lungs with a painful sounding grunt. Before he could attempt to get up, something small zipped between the sparring personas and quickly approached him. It was Naoto's persona… The white winged creature lifted its arm and flipped its stinger-like blade upside down, before dropping and impaling Yu's left calf, effectively pinning him to the ground. Yu screamed, and Yosuke could hear Naoto's voice crying out in desperation.

_"You'll never understand. This power makes me special. Only I can save her! All of you are just getting in my way!"_

_ "Dammit, get outta my head!" _He was frantic now. This situation couldn't be any worse. If only he had control of his body again… but how? How did Yu manage to wrestle free of Namatame's grasp? Just ahead, he saw Yu, pinned to the ground, arm outstretched, reaching desperately for the girl dangling like a little mouse being gripped by its tail from the fingers of the monster above. Jiraiya flew over, the pinwheel blades in his palms whirring, spinning faster.

Yu then closed his hand into a fist and brought it down hard on the marble floor. Behind him, Thor deflected a burst of fire with his hammer and mimicked the motion, raising the heavy object overhead before slamming it into the ground with explosive force. The resulting shockwave struck the other personas and sent them sprawling to the ground.

A THUMP reverberated in Yosuke's chest. He felt the impact, but he knew it would only be enough to stun their personas momentarily. They would be up and fighting again in seconds. He felt his arm move again, lifting up and pointing at the boy on the ground, leg now freed from Sukuna-Hikona's stinger. He saw the rest of the team do the same as one by one their personas slowly rose off of the ground to strike again.

His partner grunted, and pulled himself to his feet. The left pant leg of his school uniform was wet with blood. He limped and shifted his weight to his right leg, turning around to face the team. "Dammit… I told you…" His lips were turned down in a scowl, eyes burning with a fire Yosuke had never seen in the eight months since they'd met. Raising a hand weakly, Yu produced a card as Thor vanished back into his mind. The card glowed an unusually deep shade of blue. Vivid blue flames danced around it, their behavior almost hypnotizing. Yu's eyes narrowed as his fingers spread out and he brought his hand up to the spinning card. "Just… back _OFF_!"

A crashing sound was emitted as he closed his fist, sending ghostly shards flying in every direction. Blue fog swirled around him, forming into a creature high above their heads, one that Yosuke had surely never seen before. Six white wings snapped open at once, dispelling the fog in an instant. Like curtains being lifted on a stage, the fog revealed a glorious persona. It was a man, or some kind of demon, naked, with flowing golden hair, horns at least five feet long pushing out of his forehead. It hovered overhead with its six feathered wings moving gently, looking down at them with an icy cold stare. A white sash flowed loosely around his body.

Yosuke gazed up at the persona, wide eyed and slack-jawed; he'd never seen anything like this before. How did Yu get personas like _this_? The demon lifted its hand and placed it near his forehead, head bowed down, appearing to be lost in prayer. A ray of light split the clouds above, and Yosuke could feel heat flowing over him, a warm, tingling sensation touching every nerve. This light… Could he be preparing to attack their personas? Whatever was coming looked like it could be devastating. Then, Yosuke noticed something that made him nearly sick with fear. Their personas were standing outside the ray of light, in the relative darkness of the surrounding environment. This attack wasn't aimed at the their personas… It was aimed at them!

Yosuke could barely get his mouth to form the word, "W-Wait!" before the persona's eyes shot open and he lifted his hand to the sky, causing a fierce beam of light to come crashing down. The pain was immense. Yosuke didn't even have time to scream before bright, burning radiance engulfed his vision and he passed out.

When he came to and the light faded, his first thought was that this must be the _real _heaven, and how accurate Nanako's vision of it really was. He was lying on the ground, head placed uncomfortably to the side, staring at the sky. Waves of pain resurfaced, a relentless agony across his whole body. He moaned. Shifting, he managed to move his hand, placing his palm on the ground and rolling himself over to his stomach. Glancing to the side, he could make out blurry figures of his comrades lying on the floor, rustling out of unconsciousness. At least he was back in control of his own body, he could say that much. Still, the burning pain… It felt like he had been sitting in an oven for hours, cooked until well done. He blinked and raised his head. His vision came back gradually, and clarity was achieved. He tried to make sense of what he was seeing now.

He recalled that when they had first started rescuing people from the TV world, it became clear that the longer someone was left there the longer it would take them to recover. It was not because of any physical harm they sustained, but from the amount of mental stress that was placed on them just by being here. After this realization, they had always tried to rescue someone as quickly as possible following their appearance on the midnight channel. If they were left in too long, their sanity began to slip away. Now, gazing at the scene in front of him, Yosuke could imagine why.

It was a disturbing sight. Golden sunlight bathed heaven's altar. The angels on their pedestals held their heads to the sky, arms open wide. On the ground, the twisted abomination that Namatame had become was flayed open, its head rolled back, a gnarled, twitching hand reaching for the light above. Black viscera poured out from under its robe and onto the altar, as if this creature was the offering in some horrible ritual sacrifice. Its entrails wrapped around the figure in a black trenchcoat that stood motionless below. Izanagi's head was down, spear relaxed at his side, stained with dark blood. He was as still as a statue. Just behind him the boy knelt, gripping the unconscious body of Nanako Dojima in his arms. Yu pressed his forehead into the girl's hair, eyes closed, whispering something that Yosuke strained to hear. As the sounds of his injured comrades grew louder, through the ringing in his ears, he could only catch part of what Yu was saying…

"I've found it... Margaret..."

* * *

**DOUBLE CHAPTER DROP! Second of the two parts, if you jumped on here because it's the latest chapter and you're really confused, go back and check out part one first, I dropped it yesterday.**

**So yeah, again, please review and let me know what you think. I often find myself getting bored while reading extended action segments, so writing this was kind of tough for me. Especially since everything that happens inside the TV in persona 4 is so weird, and sometimes kind of silly. So my goal was to make it fun to read and hopefully not have it be too heavy on the melodrama, despite the tense situation. Kind of my philosophy in general when writing this fic, and obviously some chapters have done better than others in that regard. One thing I liked about the game (especially when compared to 3) was its lack of forced melodrama, only dropping it in when needed for much bigger impact.**

**To everyone who has left reviews so far; high fives, you're awesome, keep them coming! Tell me what sucks, what you liked, whatever. This is all still a learning experience for me and I hope I'm getting better. Thanks again, and thanks for reading!**


	10. Teenage Confidential

A narrow hallway lay before him. The walls were blue, the carpet was a cool grey, thick and rough between his toes. It was a lot longer than he remembered, but he supposed it had to be, what with the large number of doors lining its walls. He came here often, as it was a place he connected with. It was easy to compartmentalize his thoughts. The doors were white, some of them had chrome knobs while others had brass, and they all had markings on the center near shoulder height. A pair of eyes with a flame between them, a royal looking figure with a scepter and a cape, a knight holding the reigns from a black chariot. Most of these were wide open, and Yu could feel the heat emanating from them, the energy pouring out and feeding his body with power. Walking down the hallway while brushing his fingers against the wall, he came to a door that was open only slightly. He could see light on the other side, and wisps of smoke curled around his feet as he approached. On it there was a sword encircled in a black wheel. He gave the door a nudge with his fingertips, then grasped the doorknob and pushed it open. Warm brightness temporarily interrupted his sight, but his eyes soon adjusted. There was a figure here, buried in the fog. It called to him, waving gently, its arm slender and feminine. He relaxed, and let himself be drawn in. As he came closer, its features appeared more clearly. It was recognizable now. To think, she had been waiting here this whole time…

"Do you see?"

"Yes…" Yu opened his eyes. The dimly lit limousine was exactly how he'd left it. He was greeted once again by the stork-nosed old man holding a card up between his gnarled fingers.

The man was smiling, as he'd already anticipated the boy's answer. "Who or what did you see? Was it, perhaps… her?" He released his grip and allowed the card to hover for a moment and turn itself around in midair. On the other side was the picture of a woman, clad in black and holding a thread in her left hand, a pair of golden scissors in her right. Her head was encircled in a grey weave, like a horse's blinders, focusing the sight from her soulless yellow eyes.

"Atropos," Margaret chimed in, "The third sister of Moirae, the one who cuts the thread of fate, aborting the lifeline it represents. You could say she is one of many manifestations of death…"

"But don't be concerned," Igor crooned while the card he held vanished into the air, "Your soul has strengthened. She is a benevolent persona, more than willing to assist you on your journey."

Margaret gave Yu that heart-melting smile, closed her compendium and laced her fingers together on top of its cover. "So… I see you've come back to us, both in body and spirit."

"Yeah. I was a bit unsure of myself last time, that's all."

"Your heart has found its resolve. This is very pleasing news, indeed." The old man looked genuinely proud. "The heart needs resolve in order for the ritual to succeed. And the ritual needs to succeed in order to uphold the contract. You've done very well, my boy."

Yu nodded, his eyes full of energy, a determined focus in his expression.

"But I implore you to use caution, going forward," Igor continued, a shift apparent in his tone, "For the threads that constitute your bonds have been worn and frayed. It will take time to heal them completely, and another lapse of will could destroy them outright. Remember that."

"It won't happen again," Yu replied. "I know why I need to get stronger, now. There are people I have to protect."

Igor wove his slender fingers together and brought his forefingers up to touch the base of his nose. He stared at Yu intently. "Now that your doubt has been abated there are more doors waiting for you to open. I suggest you continue down the path of fortune…"

"Naoto…"

"Yes, the intrepid gumshoe!" He let out a throaty chuckle. "There are other passages to unlock in the web of her subconscious. I suggest you spend some more time journeying down that path."

"There is a rumor," Margaret added, "The three sisters you've discovered: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. They may be elements of a singular entity."

"What do you mean?" Yu asked. "They aren't separate personas?"

"No, they certainly are. But it is said that when these three exist together in a single mind… they have the potential to become something much more than they are as separate entities." She tapped on the cover of her book. "There is an entry missing from 'Le Grimoire', and I suspect this is this persona that will fill it."

_You and your big book… _"Another fusion ritual, then?"

Igor smiled. "Yes, but before the goddess can be called out from within your soul, you must command much greater power over the Fortune arcana."

"She's very strong, I hear." Margaret's eyes were glowing, obviously excited at the idea of this potential addition to her compendium. "She has a powerful command over the wind element, and may be able to repel the curses of other shadows."

"I see…" Yu sat back in his seat and glanced out the window at the fog rolling by. Those phantoms from before had rendered him helpless with a single spell. Protection against curses sounded very appealing. "Hmm… I'm not sure how to get much closer to Naoto… she's very closed off. She downplays her emotions. It's tough to get inside her head. The last time she really opened up to me was kind of an accident."

"Then vie for her trust," the old man spoke gently. "She'll open up to you the more she trusts you. That is human nature, isn't it?"

Feeling cornered by the man's relentless stare, he simply nodded in agreement, turning back to the window and bringing his hand to his chin, pondering how he would go about it.

The mist outside betrayed the actual speed of the car, floating lazily by, soothing, almost hypnotizing. It was easy to see why Marie would often be gazing absently out the window for minutes at a time. Yu glanced back in at Margaret. "When do you think she'll be back?"

"I don't know," The woman answered, her eyes equally hypnotizing, "She mentioned that she had found her purpose, and that she had to pursue it."

The empty seat next to Igor that Marie had occupied seemed to affect the very nature of the room. There was less life in here now. Everything felt just a bit colder, lonelier even. Yu enjoyed having someone he could relate to in the Velvet Room. Besides, she would sometimes laugh at his sarcastic remarks. The most he could ever get out of Margaret was a sly chuckle. "I hope she comes back…"

"Before she left, she said to tell you she is sorry for the lack of a goodbye. But she also said for you not to go searching for her."

"So…?"

"So I've already begun, of course. Would you like me to keep you informed of my progress?" Margaret tucked her hand around her waist and gave him a knowing smile.

"Yeah… I don't like that she just ran off like that. She could be in danger."

'The Nose' leaned forward. "Such concern for a resident of this room… I wonder if she would share this sentiment for a human. You do realize she isn't one?" Igor's grin widened, as if taunting the boy with information he already knew. Yu didn't react. "No matter. You have an important task at hand, don't you? Now that you've returned with a proper head on your shoulders, I imagine it will go quite smoothly. Do as you have before, and push onward towards the truth. I doubt it will wait for you any longer…"

* * *

**November 20****th****, After School**

The bell rang and Yu realized he hadn't been paying attention to the lecture at all. He picked up his books and stuffed them in his bag, before standing up and joining the gaggle of students, each of whom were trying desperately to be the first one out the door. Miss Kashiwagi stood idly by at her desk, observing them with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Yosuke snuck in beside him. "Man, I had to ask teach for a private lesson recommendation a couple days ago since finals are coming up soon, and I'm not doing so hot. That was a bad idea," he groaned.

"Why? What's wrong with getting some help?"

As they passed by Kashiwagi's desk, the buxom brunette homeroom teacher, who had to be showing off way more cleavage than faculty rules permitted, gave Yosuke a wink and a sharp tip of her eyebrow.

"Yikes…" Yu couldn't help but chuckle at his classmate's expense.

"Ugh…" Yosuke dropped his head into his hand. "I think I just puked a little in my mouth."

"Not a fan of the older ladies?" Yu taunted.

"'Older' doesn't even do it justice. She's like what, forty? I did her damn pageant! Oh, why must she torment me still?" He threw his hands in the air, playing up the melodrama presumably to make his point clearer.

"Calm down. You don't owe her anything, just find another tutor."

"Yeah… Like you?" He laughed.

The two walked downstairs and towards their lockers where they gathered everything they needed to take home that evening. Exams were coming up soon, so Yu's bag ended up being rather heavy. They made their way to the front door, neither of them saying much of anything for the moment.

Yosuke plugged in his headphones and placed them around his neck before turning to Yu with an uncharacteristically thoughtful expression. "So, have you gone back to tutoring that kid yet?"

"Nah… I've missed enough lessons already, he's probably written me off by now." Yu scratched his chin. "But who knows. If he's still interested I could use the extra cash."

"Mmm…" The boy seemed to have let Yu's answer pass right by him. He was zoning out. "So… How are you holding up?"

"Well… They kept me at the hospital a bit longer but I think that was just a precaution. I've just been taking it easy at home since then. I'm doing fine though, see? Peak physical condition!" Yu hammered it home by flexing his bicep and smacking it twice with his other hand.

"You know that's not what I meant…" Yosuke replied somberly.

A shadow fell over Yu's eyes and he dropped his arm to his side, stopping to adjust the strap of his messenger bag on his shoulder. "Ah… Nanako… Well, the doctor says she's stable, so there's that. I've visited her four times, and two of those times she wasn't even awake. It's hard to say I guess, but I'm staying positive."

"Yeah."

"What about you?"

"Hm? You mean the injuries? Ah, it's all right. Some minor burns, nothing we couldn't handle."

Yu eyed the other boy with suspicion. Sure, the physical injuries they sustained inside the TV world were never quite as severe on the outside, especially with Yukiko's intervention. But mentally, that's where the damage really took its toll. The psyche seemed to internalize the damage sustained by fighting shadows to the point where Yu would occasionally have painful flashbacks of certain encounters weeks after they occurred. Yosuke and the others would probably be having a good spell of nightmares after their devastation a few weeks ago.

"Hey, don't worry about it, okay? We're fine. You did what you had to do."

Yu didn't respond, just looked away, feeling a sting of guilt despite himself.

"I have to go. I'm gonna be late for work." He flipped his headphones up over his ears and began to walk towards the school entrance. "Good to have you back, partner."

Watching him walk down the road, joining with a number of other students, Yu couldn't help but feel that despite his apparent nonchalance, his best friend and crime-solving partner had been slightly more distant than usual. His words and tone of voice said otherwise, but still… It seemed like something had changed between them, possibly for good. For one, it wasn't like Yosuke to run off to his work at Junes without at least asking what Yu was up to later. That certainly seemed a bit strange. Then again, maybe he was just being thoughtful and allowing Yu some breathing room or some time to spend with Nanako in the hospital.

Whatever the reason, it didn't matter so much today. Yu already had other plans. He flipped open his phone, re-confirming the response he had received from Naoto after lunch. "Yes, I think that is a good idea," it read, "I'll be at Samegawa after school."

* * *

Although the air had a chilly bite to it, especially near the flood plain, the day couldn't heave been more perfect. The trees had fully transformed into vibrant flames of color, and the sky was clear except for a handful of wispy clouds hugging the horizon. It was an ideal fall day, breezy enough for most people to button up to just under the collar, but not all the way up to the neck. Yu, in accordance with his laid-back demeanor, preferred to ignore buttons altogether, instead choosing to let the tail of his jacket blow loose behind him like a cape in the wind. He struggled with the weight of his bag as he walked. It had begun to cause an ache in his shoulder, and he was relieved when he finally reached the detective, who was sitting on a bench near the edge of the park.

"There was someone else then… Are you sure?" Naoto, buttoned all the way up to the neck and tied with a bolo string, crossed her arms and leaned her back against the aluminum park bench.

Yu sat to her left, leaning on his messenger bag, rubbing his forehead and trying to recall with clarity what had happened the morning Nanako was kidnapped. Though Naoto's questioning had been detailed and thorough, he found that his memory was clouded and somewhat hazy, the events he could recall came in mostly broad, disconnected flashes.

"No… I can't really be sure." He was tired that morning, delirious. The lack of sleep had been affecting him. "I know I found another note. And I could have sworn I followed someone down the street. But then the truck came, and it couldn't have been the same guy…"

"Hmm… an accomplice, interesting. We've been operating under an assumption, but we've certainly never established that there was only _one_ culprit. Could this mean that yet another person knows about the TV world?"

"Possibly. Or maybe only Namatame does, and the accomplice is kept in the dark?"

"The less the accomplice knows the better it is for the culprit," she added. "But we could speculate all day. The important thing is that we have Namatame in custody, and the best information about what you saw will most likely come from him."

"You're right."

"For now, I can stay alert and listen for any leads the police manage to gather from interrogations. They may have to wait until he recovers, though."

But how long would that take? It only somewhat occurred to Yu that Namatame was under more stress inside the TV world than any of them. Why was that? Again, as Naoto put it, they could speculate all day, and until they could actually talk to the man himself, Yu had other important things to worry about.

The fortune arcana… It would be possible to bolster her relationship by talking about a case, but he hoped they had moved past that phase. He would have to divert her feelings to something other than stark professionalism, to move her out of her comfort zone.

Shrugging his shoulders before stretching his back off of the bench, he sighed and relaxed, crossing a leg over his knee. "Good to be back at our little spot, isn't it?" he mused.

A look of contemplation came over Naoto, and she smiled. "It seems like only yesterday you were sitting across from me at that table dressed like a girl, Yu-senpai."

Yu listened to the gentle roar of the nearby river, which had risen significantly due to the past weeks' rainfall. He was grinning as he reminisced. "And you were giving me tips! Maybe I should have dressed up every time we met here. You know, I never tried that cologne idea…"

She smirked. "Lately I haven't felt compelled to put in quite as much effort. I suppose there hasn't been any point."

"It's not like you have to fool any of us."

"Of course not, although I think the clothes still suit me. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to wear a female school uniform." She looked down, eyes resting on the watch she wore just under her sleeve. "Still, professionally speaking, it makes sense to keep dressing as I do. It doesn't do me any favors if my employers know I'm female."

Yu cast an indirect glance at her, suspiciously. Questions were nagging at his mind since that day inside the TV, but he didn't give in to the temptation to interrogate her and remained silent. This was about the ritual today, not Naoto's professional involvement. Digging too much into that would surely be counter-productive.

"I think that perhaps it's meant to be, anyway." She tapped the face of her watch. "Girls don't tinker with gadgets like this. When I was little I always preferred building things, like robot models or toy cars," she chuckled, "It would have made more sense if I were born male, wouldn't it?"

"Does it really matter?" Yu shrugged.

The detective gave him a sour look, before breaking eye contact and shifting her posture uncomfortably. "Hmph. You don't understand…"

_Maybe I would if you opened up a little? Come on, give me something…_

"How is Nanako-chan?"

The abrupt change in subject startled Yu. He looked away. This wasn't the 'something' he was hoping for. "She's stable, and she's been awake a couple of the times I visited." His voice sounded tired. _I need to be able to protect her… _"The doctors can't figure out what's wrong with her, but she's a strong kid, I know she'll pull through." _Do you, though? _Despite his cheerful expression, he experienced that familiar sense of hopelessness welling up inside his chest.

"Right, of course…" Her eyes flicked away for a moment, revealing a hint of guilt. "I'm glad you decided we should meet today, as I've been meaning to apologize about what happened inside the TV."

"Yeah… me too," Yu said, "I shouldn't have gone that far. You guys got hurt."

"But you wouldn't have resorted to that if we had more control over our personas! It was my fault, I should have been stronger. If I had, then maybe Nanako-chan wouldn't have—"

"Naoto. All I've been hearing from you guys is apologies. It's not your fault, really. It's not anybody's fault. You were all under Namatame's control, and there was nothing you could do. If anything, _I _should be the one apologizing for putting you all in the hospital!"

Naoto put her hands in her lap and leaned back a bit, nodding apprehensively.

"I couldn't have made it to Nanako in the first place if it wasn't for you. There's no way I could've done it by myself."

She stared at him for a moment, then tugged at the bill of her cap and looked away. "Perhaps."

_Well, if you insist on feeling guilty… So be it, I guess. _Yu sighed in defeat. He noticed the detective glance down and continue to stare absently at the watch on her wrist, the one she had found under the table at Junes. "Have there been any new clues?"

Without looking up from the watch, Naoto answered, "No. At least none that have been readily apparent." She tensed for a moment, bringing her hand up to her chin in that all too familiar motion. "Sometimes I get the feeling we just haven't been looking hard enough. I'm truly at a loss with the last message, 'intoperApathy'. I've done some searching, but haven't found anything remotely useful. It seems like nonsense, quite frankly."

"Well, what about the word 'Apathy'? Could we start there?"

"What does it bring to mind for you exactly? Believe me, I've tried every angle. I can't stand that I'm so lost over such a silly clue." Her frustration was becoming apparent, and she let out a sigh, bringing her hands up to her face and rubbing her eyes. "Maybe it's all just an elaborate ruse," she grumbled.

"A ruse?" Yu tilted his head, "Come on, Naoto, you really think someone would go to those lengths to mess with you? The watch? Yakushiji's handwriting?"

"Grandpa hasn't a clue, Yakushiji-san denies any involvement, even admitting to leaving his watch at Junes by mistake. You're right, the chances that this is simply a prank are low, but it all seems a bit silly, doesn't it? If this is at all related to the murder case, what if it's been designed to distract us, to throw us off course? Shouldn't we focus on interrogating the culprit in the murder case, the one recovering in the hospital as we speak?"

Yu eyed the exasperated detective with some concern. Something was off with her today; she was being unusually dismissive about an obvious challenge. She was right, interrogating Namatame about the TV world would be imperative, but last he heard the man was unable to respond intelligibly in his current state. No, there was something else motivating her behavior. _Maybe I should dig a bit deeper…_

"_Tell me about the conversations with your Grandfather." _Hmm, maybe that would be a bit too personal…

"_I agree! Screw the clues!" _Yikes! Too passive-aggressive… Why not try something simple?

"Something else on your mind?" he asked, rather bluntly.

For a moment she stared at him as if he were some kind of strange foreign entity. "No, of course not, Yu-senpai. I'm worried about the case. Aren't you?" Her words were calm but she appeared to be slightly agitated at the question.

Yu thumbed a buckle on his messenger bag nervously. Too forward? Prying would be a bad strategy, he should have known. Last time she divulged a painful memory there was a catalyst, the watch, something important from her past. As a detective, she was always careful about what information she divulged, and what she withheld.

"Sorry, I know you are," she said, "And I know how worried you must be about Nanako-chan as well." She smiled, reassuringly. "I should be more aware of your feelings."

Yu nodded. "Thanks, Naoto."

"Yosuke-senpai has lovingly nicknamed me 'Detective King Frost'," she chuckled, "I imagine because sometimes I can be rather cold and dismissive."

"But that's not really true at all, is it?"

She gave him that look again, only this time it was with a softer, more curious expression.

"I mean, I know you. I know you're not like that. Sure, sometimes you're a little stoic, but you care deeply about those around you, and it shows, despite how much you try to hide it."

Her eyes searched his face carefully, appearing almost silver in the waning daylight.

He continued, "Yeah, you're rough on yourself sometimes, but that just shows you're passionate about what you do. And it's why you work so hard, isn't it? Because you care about protecting others?"

"Yes, it is."

"So don't listen to Yosuke, he's just full of shit, as usual."

Naoto was a bit dumbstruck by the sudden praise. She turned away and nodded, seemingly unsure of how to respond.

"And for the record, I'm _glad _you're a girl," Yu added.

He watched the detective instantly become more nervous, fidgeting slightly and closing herself off, crossing her arms across her chest. Well, sometimes he found it fun making her lose her composure, anyway.

"W-What is that supposed to mean?" She stammered, "There's nothing good about it!" A noticeable blush spread over her cheeks, and she grabbed the bill of her cap and pulled it down until her eyes were suitably obscured.

Yu laughed out loud. "Hey, no need to get all upset, I was just saying!" He observed her calm down slightly, although she kept a tight grip on the cap covering her eyes.

"Hmph," she grumbled.

Suddenly something came over Yu, and he reached over and snatched the detective's cap from her head and out of her grip. She was startled, and her eyes shot open as her bangs lifted and fell back onto her forehead. For a second she wasn't sure what had happened, and this gave Yu the moment he needed. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the hat flying off over his shoulder. When she turned sharply towards him with a mixed look of anger, confusion and surprise in her eyes, he was sitting with his legs crossed, casually leaning back on the bench and gazing off into the distance, while one hand scratched at the back of his head.

"Hey! What the—" Naoto huffed, but stopped herself when she noticed Yu's aloof posture, and sighed. "Give it back, Senpai," she said tersely.

Yu remained indifferent, and didn't even spare her a glance. "Give what back?"

"This is silly. Give me my hat. What has gotten into you?"

"I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Senpai!"

Finally, he turned his head and looked in her direction. "What? You're always covering your eyes with that thing. I can never get a good look at them."

Naoto just stared back at him, tilting an eyebrow up questioningly. Her hair was short, and matted down slightly from wearing her cap all day. Her bangs were pulled together just between her brows, and now that they were caught in the breeze, shifted lightly off to the side, partially obscuring her left eye. To Yu it seemed like her face looked naked without her trademark cabbie hat, and despite the accusing harshness of her expression, the soft curve of her jaw undermined any masculine disguise.

Yu leaned towards her a bit, leaning his cheek lazily onto his palm with the arm that rested on the back of the bench. "Oooohh… dreamy…"

For a moment it looked like she was beginning to reach up to her forehead out of habit, but instead she just scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Tell me where my hat is, Narukami." It sounded like she meant business.

"Alright, how's this detective? I did what you can't stand in a place you'd be fond of."

"A riddle? You're really something else," she muttered, but was answered by Yu silently grinning ear to ear. "Fine. It's in the tree."

Yu looked impressed. "Wow, that was fast… you really _are_ an ace detective!"

"Don't patronize me." She couldn't help but smile a little at her senpai's silliness. "I can see it from here."

Naoto pointed to somewhere behind him, and he turned, following the direction of her arm until, sure enough, the hat could be seen perched on a branch three quarters of the way up a tree near the road. His shoulders slumped. "Ah, well… There you go."

"Perhaps you should retrieve it now?"

The boy turned back around and leaned back, locking his hands behind his head and sighing. "What? I thought you were fond of high places? It's up to you now, detective. You're the one who really needs it, I'm perfectly fine just sitting here enjoying the weather."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. If you want it so bad, go get it." He closed his eyes and breathed in as a crisp autumn wind blew his hair back. For a second, he heard rustling coming from Naoto's direction, then a sharp clearing of her throat caused his right eye to peek open slightly and look over.

She had undone a few buttons on her coat, and lifted one side of it open to expose the metallic handle of a black revolver. Her finger tapped on its surface repeatedly, consistently. _TAP… TAP… TAP… _ "Please," she said in an unsettling deadpan, while wearing a mischievous grin, "I insist."

* * *

_Building trust involves being comfortable with someone, and in order to be comfortable, sometimes you have to lighten the mood. _It was something he'd heard before, probably from his stepfather. Well, he supposed that had done the trick. He pulled out yet another dead leaf that had tangled itself in his hair and tossed it to the side. Scrambling up the trunk of the flimsy tree was certainly not his most graceful show of athleticism, as Naoto could attest. After he fell out of it halfway down and landed with a _thud_ in a pile of leaves at the base of the trunk, only for his hand to poke out holding her cap, she burst out laughing for what seemed like a minute straight. Lifting himself up, he watched her for a moment. He hadn't seen her laugh that much since he broke the ice with a well timed stinker of a joke nearly a month ago. The sight, as it did before, gave him pause. Perhaps, subconsciously, her laughter was his actual goal? _How cute… _Once again, the practice of 'strengthening bonds' seemed a bit less urgent. This time, though, the image of his little cousin's smiling face as it greeted him inside the door to Dojima's trumped all else.

Yu and Naoto walked side by side near the bank of the river, deciding to take a stroll to the other side of the underpass where their paths then diverged to their respective homes. The sun was beginning to set, and everything glowed with a deep orange hue. Naoto stole another leaf from behind Yu's ear and flicked it away. "You missed one," she said.

"Thanks. I'm sure I'll find a bunch more hidden under this mop when I get home, though."

"Well, you can't say I didn't try."

Yu cracked a smile and stuck his hands in his pockets. He could feel another door within his consciousness pop open, teasing him with a sliver of warm light from the other side. There was power to be gained here. Power unlike any he'd felt before… the three sisters were calling his name in unison, luring him in with their empty, haunting eyes. With their abilities, he could conquer the shadow world. No one would be able to hurt Nanako or anyone close to him again.

And yet another, smaller voice could be heard, a subtle nagging in the back of his mind. _"Personas can't help Nanako now. Personas couldn't stop her from being kidnapped."_ It was there, and it was compelling, but to Yu it was beside the point. He knew how to ignore that sense of doubt now that he had come to his senses.

Wind rattled the buckles on the bag at his side, and instinctively he covered one of them with his palm. There was an art to maneuvering through this plan with grace. He had to keep focus. He looked over at the detective, her hat once again placed firmly on her head with a forward tilt that hid her eyebrows, and said, "So you never exactly told me what was on your mind, earlier."

Naoto placed her hands in her pockets as well, and continued walking without glancing up. "I guess not… I honestly barely remember what it was."

"Was it about what happened in the alleyway?"

"Possibly. I'm not sure."

With a shuffle of shoes on grass, Yu stopped in place, causing Naoto to slow to a stop a few steps ahead, and turn around questioningly. "Hm? What is it?" She asked.

"Well, you know how I said Yosuke's full of shit?"

"Yes…?"

"He still is, but he does kind of have a point. In a way."

She tilted her head to the side, trying to read if he was being genuine or just silly again. "What are you getting at?"

"You tend to bottle things up. You know, you tend keep your distance. Sometimes that comes off as being a bit cold or off-putting, so I can see where he's coming from. Look, I know I said some crappy things to you back there. I'm sorry about that. I hope you still consider me a friend."

Naoto moved away from his gaze and studied the ground at her feet. "It's okay. I shouldn't have reacted as I did. It was unprofessional. We both have our secrets, though, Yu-senpai, and we should respect them."

"What I'm trying to say is, friends can open up to each other about things. That's what they're for, right? I want you to feel comfortable opening up to me, because I'm your friend."

She was fighting with herself, he could tell. Her expression displayed both guilt and hesitation. "There are some things about my job I just can't tell anyone… I'm sorry," she said, quite hurriedly. "I know you probably have lots of questions. The weapon I used against those shadows, for instance. The fact is it was an urgent situation, and you weren't supposed to see that." The bill of her hat came down again, her hand finding it in its familiar, comfortable position. "Trust me, I want to tell you everything, Yu-senpai, and I want you to tell me what strange things you've been doing behind the scenes as well, but—"

"But you don't have to," Yu interrupted her.

She froze, her hand still locked to the bill of her hat. Silent for a moment, her eyes darted around his face, attempting to fathom this shift in logic.

"Whoever it is you're working for obviously knows about the shadow world inside the TV, and how it works. That much I can figure out. But whatever it is they're having you do, it's okay. You don't have to tell me." He smiled a little. A warm understanding filled his eyes. "I know whatever you're doing is important to you, and I trust your judgment. What I said earlier, about how I saw that you cared about those around you... I meant it."

The detective returned her hands to her pockets, and gave him her own smile, nodding gratefully. "Yu… I greatly appreciate it. Thank you."

He nodded back, and his expression became more serious. "But what I'm saying is… You have to at least tell me one thing. Namatame is recovering in the hospital. When the police interrogate him, it's pretty likely that they won't understand what he's saying, even if it's obvious he committed those crimes. He might be considered crazy, and not pay for the full extent of what he did."

"Yes, that is a possibility," Naoto replied.

"We have to talk to him. There's something that doesn't sit right with me, and I want to figure it out. But I need to know for sure that you won't be holding anything back that involves the murder case."

There was a slight pause before she nodded briskly. Her eyes were wide with confidence, her understanding apparent. "Of course not… I would never let our case be jeopardized due to conflicting interests. It may be against protocol, but if I obtain any information necessary for catching the killer or his accomplice, I will share it with you, Senpai. You have my word as a Shirogane."

"Thanks." Yu breathed out a sigh of relief. That part went well. The door was open ever so slightly more, the new path almost within reach. He could feel it, like tingling, racing electricity filling his body. _All it will take now is one more little gesture, and the new power will be mine. It's kind of exhilarating in a way, isn't it? When you just accept it, that is, and play it like it's a game. I'm pretty good at it, too._

His shoulder ached, but he ignored it, and tapped his heavy bag softly, drumming a quiet rhythm as he stood there looking at her. One more piece and this puzzle would be complete. All the 'intrepid gumshoe' had to do was take the bait…

The sun was beginning to sink over the horizon. The sound of the cars occasionally passing by on the overpass grew more infrequent, leaving only the rushing water of the nearly flooded river beside them. It was about time to call it a night, Yu thought.

"Well, I should probably start heading back…" he said.

Naoto, gazing out at the sky, appeared not to hear him. "Senpai, now that we have a mutual agreement, I have a favor to ask of you as well."

There was that tone again. That boyish, slightly condescending way of speaking that made Yu feel like he was on the wrong side of a one-way mirror.

"You've been hiding something in that bag this whole time, haven't you?"

He stiffened. There it was. Caught him red-handed, like he knew she would. He let out a slight chuckle through his nose. "So… is that what was really bothering you, then?"

"I found it curious that you would keep it so close while sitting on the bench. You wouldn't stop fidgeting with it, either. Nervous habits are one thing, but I've never seen you so enamored when you're just carrying textbooks."

"Yeah, should have figured I couldn't get it past you. Just so you know, I _was_ planning on giving it to you whether or not you confronted me about it…"

Naoto's eyes narrowed.

Yu flipped open the buckles and lifted the cover. He heard her let out a small gasp as the manila folder was taken out of its hiding place. It had been heavily creased in one spot, most likely due to being stuffed in next to multiple smaller textbooks, but otherwise it was clean. A bulk of white pages and one dark transparent print could be seen between its covers.

Yu smiled gently, and held the folder towards the detective at the end of his outstretched arm. "Here, all yours."

A gust of wind blew by, shaking the ends of the pages opposite Yu's hand. Naoto reached out carefully and grabbed onto the ends of the folder with both hands, staring down at it with an intense focus. "Your examination results…"

"You need them for your investigation, right?"

She nodded, still gazing at the folder as if she had just discovered a long lost treasure.

"Well, whoever needs them, it's probably better off in their hands than mine. I don't know what any of it means, and honestly I don't really care. So, just be sure to let me know if I'm gonna die or something, alright?"

"But—"

"No buts, just take them. I'm not letting you give them back." He pushed the folder towards her and released his hand, leaving it in the startled detective's possession. "Whew. Glad I don't have to carry that around anymore." Even though the folder's weight was negligible compared the heavy books in his bag, he felt his body grow lighter, and the pain in his shoulder eased. He flipped the cover back over and latched the buckles tightly. "Time for me to head back to Dojima's for some eats. Come on, Naoto, I'll walk with you up to the intersection."

The detective was in her own little world, still frozen in the same spot, fixated on the documents in her hands. Oh well, she would come to her senses in a moment. Yu turned and began to walk, pushing his hands into his pockets and throwing his shoulders back, a little extra skip in his step.

Suddenly, he felt that familiar euphoria return to him, a new area of his psyche discovered once again. He was walking down a hallway with blue walls and grey carpets, feeling the texture of the wool beneath his feet and the uneven bump of the wallpaper under his fingers. A door was opening, the last one with the sword encircled in a wheel of fate, the final barrier that led to the true power with in. Her trust was the key that he used to push it wide open. Light consumed him, and energy ran through his veins. He'd done it. Now, the ritual could be completed.

_Man, what a rush… I really am getting good at this! Maybe I'll go straight to the Velvet Room, and fuse this new persona tonight. Then I can visit Nanako in the hospital tomorrow, and tell her that everything's going to be okay… Yeah, I think that's what I'll do. _He filled his lungs with cool air and smiled, satisfied with himself. The fact that Naoto would be sharing his blurry-looking x-ray with her employers no longer bothered him. He didn't care. The detective could go on her merry way, solving crimes and blowing shadows' heads off with that nasty gun. They would discuss things here and there, and of course they would keep working together with the rest of the gang, bringing the killer to justice or just hanging out together. That was all fine. But now that he had what he wanted, he could assure himself that the case of Naoto Shirogane was officially closed. _We shared some good times, detective. I'll cherish the memories we've made._

"You know, Naoto," he called back, "I actually think it's pretty cool what you do. You're a solo player, a freelancer; you're not locked down like most adults. I think that I might want a job that's kind of like that once I graduate from…" Yu trailed off as he heard a strange sound behind him, a loud _whoosh_ followed by fluttering, like paper in the wind…

He froze, initially unsure of what he heard, then glanced back to the shore. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat. Naoto was facing away from him, toes nearly touching the water of the flowing river in front of her. In the air, pieces of paper circled and cascaded down on the gentle breeze, framing her silhouette and dropping, one by one, into the rushing stream. She was breathing heavily, and when she turned around and their eyes met, Yu thought he might have been looking at a completely different person. Her blue eyes were focused and aware, her brows were pushed together in fierce defiance. Yet, there was an understanding there, like she was peeling back his skin and looking into his soul, and finding exactly what she had expected. Now she was expecting something in return. A reaction… acceptance…

It was then that Yu realized he wasn't looking at the detective, the one who he had been sneaking closer to during the duration of his forging bonds. No, this was Naoto as she really was… that strong-willed, high-strung girl from the classroom downstairs, the one who liked robot toys and puzzle games, who was quick to become emotional about things she cared about, who could read an entire novel in four hours, who was deathly afraid of ghost stories despite her bravado, who dressed like a boy because she was worried that the world wouldn't accept her for who she really was, who could see right through your bullshit the minute you blinked the way you weren't supposed to. There was innocence in her actions, and immediately she seemed even smaller than before.

As the black x-ray transparency splashed into the river, Yu stood there like a statue, his jaw inches from the ground. _What had she done? _The thumping of his heart drowned his thoughts out, until even that was buried by an increasing roar, overwhelming his senses. He bowed his head, attempting to calm whatever incessant drone was muddling his thoughts. _Why is she just standing there staring at me!?_ He was in a hallway… A hallway with blue walls and cool grey carpets… The doors all had insignias etched onto their surfaces… Chariot, Emperor, Magician, Fortune… They were all solidifying, the entire hallway was turning to glass and shattering, causing a magnificent howl as the entire structure collapsed and twisted away in a wild vortex.

How he ended up where he did next, he wasn't sure. Instinct must have taken over, and now he was sprinting, a whirlwind of buildings and trees passing him by, blurred colors in his peripheral vision. The crashing sound in his head was relentless. When his lungs felt like they were about to explode, he stopped to catch his breath. Here was an alleyway, tucked between a weapons shop and a bookstore in the shopping district. Green brick and stucco covered the walls, and paper garbage littered the cement floor. There was nothing else, nothing out of the ordinary. It was completely, utterly normal.

Yu slid down the wall and dropped to his knees, arms dangling loosely at his sides. He snickered, and rolled his head back, thinking that this was all just too absurd. Then, he burst out into hysterical laughter despite himself. Leaning back until his legs couldn't hold him anymore, he fell onto the cement, splaying his arms out to the sides and laughing manically at the sky above. "Igor!" He called out between choking guffaws, "You old fucker! Hahaha… You tricky old bastard!"

* * *

On the other side of the river, a man in a dark suit watched as the teenage boy fled the scene. He observed the small detective by the water as she watched her friend disappear down the road, just standing there for a moment without moving a muscle. She pulled her cap down over her eyes and adjusted her collar before meekly stepping away from the riverbank and walking slowly in the same direction, head tucked into her coat, until she was gone.

The man emerged from around a pillar beneath the overpass where he was hiding, and rubbed the back of his neck, just below the cut of his light grey hair. The setting sun made seeing through his sunglasses all the more difficult, but the tiny camera attached to the rim meant they had to stay on the entire time. Perhaps he should switch to clear lenses sometime soon…

A young man's voice crackled in through his earpiece. _"Did you see where it went?"_

"It all went into the river," he replied.

_"I can see that, dumbass. I meant where did it go afterwards?"_

"I can't be sure. There may be a storm drain or some debris just down the way that could be blocking its path."

_"Then it looks like you're going to be getting wet. Follow the river and report back to me when you have it. I'll be watching, but I've got other important things to do. Clear?"_

"Yes. Clear."

_"Good, now get moving, old man. You've already wasted enough time."_

The earpiece went silent. The man in the suit sighed and shook his head. This wouldn't be easy, but he had no choice. He began to jog downstream, making sure to check the banks of the river along the way to see if anything had washed up. The sun had almost set… Time was not on his side.

* * *

**Happy Holidays!**

**Spector29 - If you insist... :P**


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